SPoT Coffee Announces 5 New Franchise Deposit Agreements

TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2019 /CNW/ - SPOT COFFEE (CANADA) LTD. (TSX-V: SPP) ("SPoT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that at this early stage of the month of January of 2019, it has already signed five new franchise deposit agreements to develop five new Spot cafés. Locations for two of these franchise cafés in the city of Niagara Falls and the town of North Tonawanda, both in the State of New York, have been approved by the Company and secured. Development of these two cafés will commence as soon as their architectural designs have been completed and building permits issued. The third franchise deposit agreement is for the development of a Spot café in Victor, a town in Ontario County, State of New York. This deposit agreement is conditional upon the franchisee obtaining the proper financing for the development of the Spot café as well as a suitable location. The fourth and fifth Spot cafés will be developed by Parisco Cafés, LLC, which currently owns three Spot franchise cafés and is looking to develop another two Spot franchise cafés this year.

Spot Coffee West Seneca (CNW Group/Spot Coffee (Canada) Ltd.)

In the coming weeks, the Company will provide more information about café locations for both Parisco Cafés, LLC and the Company's new franchisee in Victor. The Company will also keep its shareholders informed in due course as to the status of other franchises currently under negotiation.  For more information on these and other developments, shareholders and interested franchisees can contact Spot by writing to [e-mail].

Furthermore, the Company is also pleased to announce that it has successfully concluded its 2018 franchise program with the opening on January 3 of its fifth franchise location for that year in West Seneca, a town in Erie County in New York State.

Management is focused on its objective of reaching the next set of milestones in its franchise program and business plan, including having a total of fifty (50) Spot café locations developed and operating by the end of the year 2020.

Spot Coffee West Seneca

On January 3, 2019, Spot Coffee West Seneca officially opened for business in the West Seneca Community Center and Library. The opening of this café marks the fifth franchise café that Spot has fully developed over the course of the previous year.

Spot Coffee West Seneca now serves as a gathering center for members of the West Seneca community. Spot Coffee was selected as the preferred café for this location over several noteworthy competitors. It has been very well received by the local community and is on target to become a sustainably profitable café.

Spot Coffee Niagara Falls

Spot Coffee Niagara Falls will be located inside The Niagara Club, a multi-functional destination housing a gourmet restaurant, a full-sized banquet hall, and a rooftop terrace bar and lounge with a full view of the Niagara River. The total construction cost of the Niagara Club has been estimated at US $1,800,000. Spot Coffee will be positioned in a section of the Niagara Club with direct access to the rooftop terrace.

Niagara Falls is a destination market that thrives during peak seasons. However, local university students and residents in need of a community café to call their own are expected to become year-round patrons of the location.

Financing for this franchise café has already been arranged. The development of Spot Coffee Niagara Falls is moving forward with an anticipated opening in mid-2019.

Spot Coffee North Tonawanda

Downtown North Tonawanda will soon see a major overhaul of the former North Tonawanda History Museum building in which a new Spot Coffee café will be located. The former G.C. Murphy's department store at 54 Webster St. will have its aluminum and glass façade completely redone to match the more historic, canal town style of the surrounding properties, and the inside will be remodeled to accommodate a mixture of new commercial and residential tenants.

Spot Coffee North Tonawanda will anchor the new development, and Ralph Dailey, the local investor and real estate developer who owns the premises, will also become Spot Coffee's newest franchisee.

Spot Coffee Victor

Victor is situated in the northwest corner of Ontario County, southeast of Rochester, New York. It is part of Greater Rochester, which is an area where Spot Coffee enjoys strong brand recognition. Additionally, the town's location makes it an excellent connection town between Monroe County, the home of more than two-thirds of the Greater Rochester population, and Ontario County. With a population of over 15,000 people, Victor has been identified by Spot as an outstanding community and an excellent location for a full Spot Coffee café.

Boston Franchise Expo

Spot Coffee will be a participant and an exhibitor at The Franchise Show in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 11 and 12, 2019. Spot is aggressively pursuing opportunities to expand its franchise operations into New York's neighbouring northeastern states including Connecticut and Massachusetts now that it has the logistical capabilities as well as supply chain management.

AGM Results

On Friday, January 4, 2019, Spot held its Annual General Meeting. The shareholders approved the 2017 audited financial statements of the Company as well as the appointment of the directors nominated by management, along with RSM, the Company's auditors. All resolutions that were presented to the shareholders including the Company's Stock Option Plan were approved.

About SPoT Coffee

SPoT Coffee trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SPP. SPoT designs, builds, operates and franchises community-oriented cafés and express cafés in the northeastern United States. SPoT's community cafés provide its customers with the highest quality service, signature made-to-order meals and award-winning micro-roasted coffee. Each SPoT café is distinctively designed to suit its local neighbourhood, creating a warm and friendly gathering place for the community. SPoT's commercial business focuses on the sale of roasted coffee beans to food service and grocery chains, business offices and resellers such as universities and hospitals.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

SOURCE Spot Coffee (Canada) Ltd.

For further information: Anton Ayoub, President & CEO, [phone] EXT 228, [e-mail]