The rollout is sequenced so that supply-chain and technology foundations precede store openings, and each capital tranche gates the cohort it funds. Dependencies flow top-to-bottom: nothing opens before the commissary and systems that feed it are live.
Phased delivery plan
|
Phase |
Window |
Milestone |
Key dependencies |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Phase 0 — Foundation |
Months 0–6 |
Capital close, brand & menu R&D, commissary build starts |
Tranche-1 equity + debt committed |
|
Phase 1 — Prove |
Months 6–14 |
10 flagship stores live; loyalty app launched |
Commissary live; supply agreements signed |
|
Phase 2 — Scale |
Months 14–30 |
Series B close; stores 11–20; express pilot |
Phase-1 recall & unit economics proven |
|
Phase 3 — Expand |
Months 30–48 |
Stores 21–30; franchise model designed |
Commissary #2; funding follow-on |
|
Phase 4 — Platform |
Months 48–60 |
Stores 31–50 (hybrid); branded retail; exit-ready |
Franchise traction; audited track record |
Critical-path Gantt
The 60-month Gantt below maps the critical path. The binding sequence is deliberate: the commissary and supply agreements (Phase 0) are hard prerequisites for the first openings; the technology stack must be live before store one trades; and each equity tranche is timed to precede — not follow — the cohort it funds, so the estate never rolls out ahead of its capital.
Milestones & gating conditions
- M0–M3 — Financial close & governance. Tranche-1 equity and the senior/asset-finance facility committed; board and controls established.
- M8 — Commissary live. Central prep and cold-chain operational — the hard gate before any store opens.
- M14 — First ten stores trading. Phase-1 estate complete; loyalty app live; recall and unit-economics data begin accumulating.
- M17 — Series B close. Follow-on equity, gated on Phase-1 traction, funds the scale-up.
- M28 — Twenty stores. Express format proven; second distribution node underway.
- M42 — Thirty stores & franchise pilot. Company-owned proof complete; franchise disclosure documents ready to shift Phase-2 capital intensity.
- M60 — Fifty stores & exit-ready. Hybrid estate at scale; branded retail launched; audited three-year track record supporting IPO or strategic-exit optionality.
Analyst flagTranches must be committed, not merely intended
The roadmap’s integrity depends on each capital tranche being available before its cohort is built. A common failure mode is opening ahead of committed follow-on funding, then stalling mid-rollout with a half-built estate carrying full overhead. Lenders and Tranche-1 investors should require the Series B follow-on to be committed (or clearly conditional on defined, achievable Phase-1 KPIs) at the outset — not left to a future fundraising that may not clear.
Dependency logic
- Supply chain precedes stores. Commissary and sourcing are prerequisites, not parallel workstreams.
- Systems precede trading. POS, delivery integration and loyalty must be live before store one opens.
- Capital precedes cohorts. Each tranche is timed ahead of the stores it funds.
- Proof precedes scale. Phase-1 recall and unit economics gate the Series B and the 50-store commitment.
- Franchise precedes the capital-light phase. The franchise model must be designed and piloted before Phase-2 growth can be de-risked off the balance sheet.