The empty, old KFC on Loudon Road in Concord is being converted into an Aroma Joe’s coffee shop and drive-thru.
After the chicken chain franchise closed in August, the 135 Loudon Road property was sold for $600,000 in mid-November to a real estate investment and holding company, according to city records.
Husband and wife Amanda and Tyler Parkhurst of Dover are two of the four business partners remodeling the restaurant, which will be their fourth Aroma Joe’s franchise. Their other locations are in Alton, Laconia and North Conway.
They’re hoping to open for business about June.
Tyler Parkhurst said they’ve had their eyes on the real estate market in Concord for almost two years.
“I think it’s a big enough city that’s been untapped,” he said. “We’ve been actively looking probably about a year to find the correct spot. There were a couple other areas that we looked at in Concord. This seemed to be the best fit.”
Especially on the Seacoast, Aroma Joe’s has been fast expanding with dozens of locations in New Hampshire and Maine. Many are nothing more than small, drive-up huts.
But the Concord location will include a walk-in cafe, as well, and will be the first of that style for the Parkhursts.
“You’ll be able to sit inside and use the Wi-Fi and do homework and have meetings and whatnot,” Amanda Parkhurst said, noting that it’s just across the street from Keach Park. “We’re kind of excited to have a place that people can hang out and be productive.”
Tyler Parkhurst said the building is “a little bit run down,” so there’s lots of work to do to bring it up to their standards. Although it was a restaurant with a drive-thru, he said “it’s probably more about the location than the building itself.”
“It’s busy there, it’s close enough to other areas that will draw business in, and it’s an easily accessible building, which is nice,” he said. “Sometimes you can get on a really busy road, but if you can’t turn in to the place, people won’t turn in.”
Parkhurst said they’ll offer a day of open interviews to hire baristas shortly before they open. They’ll indicate the hiring process by posting a banner outside, she said.
“Come May, we’re going to do the hiring and the training,” she said. “Because it’s going to be so busy, we want a month of training so we can hit the ground running.”
The Parkhursts’ business partners are a father-daughter team, Patrick and Sarah Duffy.
(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325, nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @NickBReid.)