AUSTIN-Fired Up Inc. has a franchise agreement in hand to open four Johnny Carino's Country Italian restaurants in the United Arab Emirates, GlobeSt.com has been told.

The first two will open in Dubai and Abudabi, says Norman Abdallah, Fired Up's co-CEO and president. Meanwhile, today marks the grand opening for the Nile City riverboat eatery in Cairo. In the company's pipeline are openings in Bahrain, Kuwait, San Antonio and Grand Prairie, TX. Year-end openings had been held in Greeley, CO and Beaumont, TX.

Abdallah tells GlobeSt.com that two more franchise pacts for four states will be announced May 3 and May 30. In the next four years, the ultimate goal is to have 133 franchise agreements in place plus 33 company-owned stores in 11 states and 12 countries. Fired Up owns all of its locations in Texas, Colorado, Idaho and Arkansas. Perhaps, he says, 400 to 500 restaurants could come on line “by the time we're finished.”

Food & Life General Trading LLC, a division of the Al Abbas Group, will develop the United Arab Emirates eateries. The developer is working in concert with the Al-Ghunaim Trading Co., the master franchiser of Johnny Carino's in 10 Middle Eastern countries. Food & Life General is one of 13 Al Abbas companies. The parent firm had been founded in 1967 and controls sales and distribution of retail and wholesale brands such as IBM, Minolta and Lexmark throughout the UAE, according to a company statement. Other business entities include travel, sports, medicine, electronics, leisure and high-tech industries. “The Al Abbas Group is one of the strongest retail and wholesale consumer companies in the Middle East,” Abdallah says.

Today's opening in Cairo centers on a 250-foot riverboat that boasts a full-size Johnny Carino's and several other restaurant concepts. The boat features about 60,000 sf of banquet facilities. The Egyptian franchise partner is Amer International.

The three-year-old Fired Up Inc. is the brainchild of Creed Ford and Abdallah, both former Chili's executives. In addition to Johnny Carino's, they currently operate and franchise Kona Ranch Steakhouses, Gumbo's Louisiana Style Cafe and The Brown Bar.