During the great recession of the late 2000s, Justin Howe’s family, owners of Amarillo hamburger joint Buns Over Texas, began selling different flavors of teas to help grow sales at their drive-thru restaurant. The beverages were a big hit, but it wasn’t until six years later that Howe, who was a homebuilder by trade, began working on expansion plans. He knew the family was onto something; other than water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage across the globe, and it’s especially popular in southern states.
By 2014, Howe launched a standalone drive-thru concept called Texas Tea across from the family’s burger spot. After opening a second location in Amarillo that same year, he renamed the venture HTeaO and planted its first rebranded site in Midland.
By May of 2018, HTeaO was seeing interest from franchisees. “We went to dinner as a family and ultimately agreed that that we would move forward and sign that first franchise agreement, and the rest is—well, not history, but that’s where it all began,” Howe says. The family proceeded to quickly sign more than 25 agreements.
Howe moved to Fort Worth to scale the company, citing a deeper talent pool and supply chain infrastructure as key factors behind the relocation decision. Last year, private equity firms Trive Capital and Crux Capital became minority owners in the concept, but the company has almost always been self-sustaining. Until this year, the company hadn’t spent a dollar on franchise development marketing and focused on organically vetting partners to work with. Though the company now partners with larger developers, they remain on a smaller, slower scale in terms of expansion.
Today, HTeaO boasts more than 300 employees and 123 brick and mortar stores—all drive-thru-only sites that are about 2,000 square feet in size. In 2024 to date, the brand has opened 34 locations, expanding to Louisiana and Missouri. Forty-two additional stores are set to open by the end of the year.
“We need to open a handful of stores at the same time to penetrate the markets, so we’re being very strategic with who we allow to move forward in some of these other states,” Howe says. “For instance, in Tucson, we waited until we had enough horsepower to open four to six doors at one time, and so we have quite a few stores being developed in Tucson and Phoenix. All of those were strategically held back until we had enough horsepower to lot quite a few at the same time just to overcome obscurity and brand awareness.
“We could have sold the whole bottom half of the United States in 18 months, and we absolutely did not do that,” Howe continues. “We are a very traditional franchise in that we still have the dream to take someone that’s middle-aged and hasn’t had a professional career and turn them into entrepreneurs who build a legacy for themselves.”
As for the locations, the company is more rooted in community sites, and typically looks to build in areas with high traffic counts and population density. The company takes a very methodological approach, analyzing data as well as one subjective criteria, which is “the vibe.” Howe says the company keeps its boots on the ground by typically sending someone from the company to ensure that each location is up to standard.
“I do real estate trips quite often,” Howe says. “A lot of times you’ll see a site on paper, and it actually presents better in person, and so we want to get them to understand not just dynamics of the trade area, but things like accessibility issues and traffic counts are important as well. There’s a lot of dynamics when it comes to real estate.”
The company recently ventured beyond teas for the first time, partnering with Yellowstone actor Cole Hauser and his Free Rein Coffee company to offer a variety of java options in all HTeaO locations. “We’re constantly developing flavors and always looking to enhance the menu,” Howe says, “but we’ll always be a tea company.”
Howe describes the company as dominating the afternoon market, by creating fun experience that serves as a relief from a monotonous day. “The morning customers are a little more uptight and anxious about the day, but afternoon customers are happier,” Howe says. “Even when you walk in, the music is a little louder than you would probably find at a normal restaurant, and we don’t have anywhere to sit, so you get in and get out. But it’s definitely an experience and we promote that as part of the as part of our core foundation.”
With 26 flavors of tea, the entrepreneur still thinks of the brand as a “Sun Belt concept.” His current roadmap focuses on growing throughout Arizona and Florida, with the hope that Florida will open the door for additional expansion on the East Coast. By the end of 2026, Howe aims to have 300 HTeaO venues up and running.
“The work gets harder, and we’re solving new problems,” Howe says. “But we’re having a blast.”
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