Lola Beans Signs First Texas Lease in 120-Unit Franchise Plan

Lola Beans has secured its first Texas lease in Waxahachie, moving a 120-unit development agreement into the site stage. Texas Area Representatives Kirk and Coleen Jeter signed the lease for a location at North Highway 77 and Hedgewood Drive, the drive-through beverage franchise announced on 5 November 2026.

Waxahachie anchors the Texas rollout

The Waxahachie lease is the first location secured under the Jeters’ statewide development agreement. It gives the expansion programme a specific starting point, although the announcement concerns a signed lease rather than an opening.

The couple is targeting four to five shop openings in 2027. Two additional locations are in lease negotiations, while several others are at the letter of intent stage. Those sites therefore remain at different points in the property process and should not be counted as completed leases or operating shops.

Lola Beans said the first lease followed months of planning, property evaluations and collaboration between the Jeters and its corporate team. The announcement did not give a specific opening date for Waxahachie.

For the US franchise community, the distinction between a development commitment and a secured site is important. The 120-unit agreement sets out the scale of the Texas ambition; the Waxahachie lease represents an initial step towards delivering it. The stated 2027 opening target provides a nearer-term measure against which progress can be assessed.

A dual role for the Texas partners

The Jeters plan to develop and operate 15 Lola Beans shops themselves. Alongside those operating responsibilities, they will serve as Area Representatives supporting franchise development throughout the remainder of Texas.

That structure places the couple on both sides of the rollout: establishing their own shops while helping the brand expand through other franchise partners. Their planned 15-shop operating portfolio forms part of the wider Texas commitment, rather than an additional programme separate from the 120-unit agreement.

The announcement does not set out an annual schedule for completing the full statewide plan. Its clearest near-term commitments are the first signed lease, the four-to-five-opening target for 2027 and the additional properties progressing through negotiations.

Prospective franchise partners should therefore distinguish the Jeters’ direct operating plans from their area representative responsibilities. Both are central to the announced strategy, but they describe different roles in bringing the brand to Texas markets.

Modular design supports development plans

The Texas partners have also helped advance a new modular building programme for Lola Beans. Working with Russo Modular, a commercial modular manufacturer based in Phoenix, the Jeters spent months helping refine a design tailored to the brand’s drive-through operations.

According to the announcement, that design is now complete. It was developed with scalability, operational efficiency and consistency in mind, making the building programme a second strand of the expansion effort alongside property acquisition.

A repeatable shop design is relevant to a development agreement spanning multiple locations. However, the announcement provides no construction-cost comparison, installation timetable or measured operating results for the new format. Its stated design objectives should not be read as evidence of demonstrated savings or faster openings.

For franchise candidates, the practical questions are how the format would apply to a particular site, what work would be required locally and how those requirements would affect the proposed opening schedule. The completed design is a development milestone, not a substitute for assessing an individual property.

Texas sits within a broader US pipeline

Lola Beans offers handcrafted coffee, its signature Lola Colas and plant-based energy drinks, among other beverages. The brand reports 130 units in development across multiple states and is seeking qualified franchise partners in available US markets, including Texas.

That development figure describes a pipeline, not an operating shop count. Likewise, the Texas agreement signals planned expansion rather than 120 locations already trading. The next visible milestones will be further completed leases and the targeted 2027 openings.

Practical takeaway: Prospective franchisees should assess the signed-site pipeline, their proposed operating role and the modular format separately. A large development agreement establishes ambition; location-level due diligence is what helps turn that ambition into an informed investment decision.