{"id":1811915,"date":"2026-08-20T10:45:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T08:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/news\/retro-fitness-signs-multi-unit-deal-with-veteran-qsr-franchisee-laddi-singh\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T10:13:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T08:13:56","slug":"retro-fitness-signs-multi-unit-deal-with-veteran-qsr-franchisee-laddi-singh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/news\/retro-fitness-signs-multi-unit-deal-with-veteran-qsr-franchisee-laddi-singh\/","title":{"rendered":"Retro Fitness Signs Multi-Unit Deal With Veteran QSR Franchisee Laddi Singh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/our-franchises\/gym-fitness\/\">US fitness franchise sector<\/a> is drawing operators from well beyond the gym industry. On August 19, 2026, <em>Retro Fitness<\/em> announced a multi-unit development agreement with <em>Laddi Singh<\/em>, a seasoned QSR <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/articles\/franchise-franchisee-franchisor-roles-responsibilities\/\">franchisee<\/a> who currently runs more than <strong>50 Popeyes, Burger King, and Arby&#8217;s<\/strong> restaurants across New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/articles\/what-is-a-franchise-agreement\/\">franchise agreement<\/a> marks one of the more visible examples of a large QSR operator diversifying into the fitness sector. Singh has earned multiple industry recognitions during his restaurant career, including Popeyes Franchisee of the Year (2020), the Popeyes Gold Plate Award (2024), and the Arby&#8217;s Inspiring Smiles Award (2020). He has completed more than <strong>30 ground-up development projects<\/strong>, bringing direct experience in site selection, construction management, and real estate execution to what is his first venture in the fitness industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a195ee2ab787a6e618388fff496b0059\">A Decorated Restaurant Operator Enters the Fitness Market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singh&#8217;s first <strong>Retro Fitness<\/strong> club will open on Long Island, with additional locations planned to follow in the New York market. The deal represents Singh\u2019s first partnership outside the <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/our-franchises\/fast-food\/\">quick-service restaurant franchise sector.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As someone who has spent years building and growing franchise businesses in QSR, I was looking to diversify with my next investment<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRetro Fitness immediately stood out because of its high-value, low-price model, experienced management team, and comprehensive support for franchisees. It combines a business I&#8217;m excited about with a model I believe in, and I&#8217;m looking forward to introducing the brand to more communities across New York,\u201d Singh noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ae48bae623217a295fe62090271cc944\">High-Value, Low-Price Fitness Continues to Draw Multi-Brand Investors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The high-value, low-price (HVLP) fitness category positions itself around affordable monthly memberships, broad equipment access, and relatively low labor overhead compared to boutique concepts. These characteristics are frequently cited by operators with backgrounds in cost-focused <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/articles\/what-is-a-franchise\/\">franchise systems<\/a> as factors that make the model familiar in terms of unit economics. The Singh deal adds to a broader pattern of QSR multi-unit operators looking at fitness franchises as a portfolio diversification move, particularly as restaurant labor costs and food input prices have continued to put pressure on margins in the food service segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a21d2d5703542033f40f1360eb095031\">What Retro Fitness Has Said About Its Expansion Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Andrew Alfano<\/strong>, CEO of Retro Fitness, described the agreement as reflecting broader confidence from sophisticated operators in the brand&#8217;s franchise model. &#8220;Laddi&#8217;s investment reflects the confidence sophisticated franchisees have in the Retro Fitness brand,&#8221; Alfano said. &#8220;Coming from hospitality myself, I understand why an experienced QSR operator would see the opportunity to diversify into high-value, low-price fitness. Laddi has built an exceptional track record across multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/our-franchises\/\">franchise brands<\/a>, and we&#8217;re thrilled to partner with him.&#8221; Retro Fitness offers franchisees a support program covering site selection, construction management, marketing, accounting, a centralized call center, and ongoing operational guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or professional advice. Laws and regulations vary by state and individual circumstances and may change over time. Readers should consult a qualified attorney, tax professional, or other licensed professional regarding their specific situation. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US fitness franchise sector is drawing operators from well beyond the gym industry. On August 19, 2026, Retro Fitness announced a multi-unit development agreement with Laddi Singh, a seasoned QSR franchisee who currently runs more than 50 Popeyes, Burger King, and Arby&#8217;s restaurants across New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The franchise agreement marks one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":788,"featured_media":1811949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Retro Fitness Signs Multi-Unit Deal With QSR Giant Laddi Singh","_seopress_titles_desc":"Retro Fitness signs multi-unit deal with Laddi Singh, operator of 50+ Popeyes, Burger King and Arby\u2019s locations across three states.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"content-type":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1616915,1782808,1769540,1769493,1800817,1545800","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3594],"tags":[],"type-de-post":[2066],"class_list":["post-1811915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-franchise-networks","type-de-post-articles-actualite"],"acf":[],"permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1811915"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1811950,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811915\/revisions\/1811950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1811949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1811915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1811915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1811915"},{"taxonomy":"type-de-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-de-post?post=1811915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}