Chris Jones, a new franchisee of Michigan-based moving company Two Men & A Truck, has opened his first office in Spokane Valley.

Jones, 29, is basing the franchise in 5,000 square feet of leased office and warehouse space in the Vista Industrial Park, at 111 N. Vista Road.

Jones is originally from Boise, Idaho, which is where he says he got his start with Two Men & A Truck.

“I started as a part-time mover at the company’s Boise location back in 2012, literally the first day they opened,” he says. “I’d gone to school for a degree in business management and always planned to open a business someday; I just didn’t know it would be a moving company.”

Jones says he previously owned and operated a Two Men & A Truck franchise in Mississippi but sold it in order to move closer to Boise.

“I was looking for a location a bit closer to home, and I’d visited Spokane before,” he says. “I feel like this area really fits our business model, and there’s a need in the community for our services.”

Jones says Two Men & A Truck’s Spokane Valley office opened Jan. 14 and has seven employees, not including himself.

“We have two office workers and five professional movers and drivers,” he says. “The first move we completed was Jan. 18.” 

Pam Batten, Lansing, Mich.-based compliance director for Two Men & A Truck, says the company has plans to open up new franchises in 15 locations nationwide this year.

“We have seven or eight franchises that should be ready to open by May, and as we move through the year, we anticipate others will be ready to expand as well,” she says.

Batten says Two Men & A Truck now has more than 390 offices and 2,900 trucks operating in 44 U.S. states, in addition to offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

The company was founded in 1985 and has completed more than 7 million moves since then.

Jones says he’s hoping the new Spokane office will mirror the success he’s experienced with previous Two Men & A Truck franchises.

“I want to continue to create opportunities for employees, customers, and the community by giving them another option for moving services,” he says. “People already seem excited, so I think we’ll be a good company for this area.”

While the company does offer service to Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, Jones says he’d like develop a North Idaho office soon.

“It would be nice to have something a bit closer to customers and employees who might be interested in working with us,” he says.