By the Caribbean Journal staff

Miami-based Burger King Worldwide has announced a planned expansion to Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana.

The company will be opening three new restaurants in the French Caribbean, beginning with a Burger King at the Aime Cesaire International Airport in Martinique.

That location is slated to open on April 1, 2014, according to the company.

Burger King is working with ADM Food Services on the openings.

“We feel this is a strategic location for a Burger King restaurant and an extraordinary showcase for the brand,” said Arnaud Monplaisir, general manager, ADM Food Services. “For this first restaurant, ADM Food Services will be supported by the SERVAIR Group, an international specialist in airline catering and airport catering spaces as well as the Monplasir Group, whose focus in tourism, food catering, and waste management will be key in boosting performance in the local market.”

Delphibn Monplaisir, president of Monplasir, said the company had already seen “tremendous interest” on social media in anticipation of the company’s return to Martinique (the brand had left France in 1997 before returning in 2012).

ADM said the openings would create an average of 40 jobs per restaurant.

The eventual plan is to open four additional restaurants in the French Caribbean by the end of 2015.

“Bringing the Burger King brand back to Martinique reinforces our commitment to further strengthening our regional and global restaurant portfolio,” said Jose Dias, president, BKW Latin America and the Caribbean, in a release. “ADM Food Services has excellent local, cultural and food service business expertise and we look forward to a strong opening and brand presence in the region.”