FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 4, 2026--
HTeaO, the nation’s leading iced tea franchise, today announced the appointment of Brian Wise as Chief Executive Officer. Wise, who most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, joins HTeaO as the Company enters its next phase of national expansion. His appointment follows an additional growth investment completed in April 2026 by Crux Capital and Trive Capital, the two Dallas-based private equity firms that first partnered with HTeaO in January 2023 and now hold a majority interest in the Company. HTeaO Co-Founder Justin Howe will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of the Board. Howe will remain engaged in the Company’s long-term strategy, brand vision and product innovation, working closely with Wise and the executive leadership team.
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The CEO appointment and additional financial support come amid sustained momentum for HTeaO. The Company has grown to more than 180 locations across 11 states and was named to the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. Alongside its rapid expansion, HTeaO is making significant investments in the people, technology and infrastructure required to support a system many times its current size. Recent investments include several senior leadership additions, expanded supply chain capabilities, and enhanced franchisee support systems.
“Building HTeaO into the category leader it is today has been one of the greatest privileges of my life,” said Justin Howe, Executive Chairman of HTeaO. “Brian is an exceptional leader who understands what makes this brand special, and I have complete confidence in where he’ll lead HTeaO next.”
Wise brings nearly two decades of experience inside one of the country’s most successful fast-casual franchise systems. He joins HTeaO after more than seven years on the corporate leadership team of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer following roles as Senior Vice President of Operations and Director of Franchise Management. During his tenure on the leadership team, Freddy’s expanded to nearly 600 restaurants across 37 states and into Canada while strengthening the training, technology and operational systems that supported that growth. Before joining the corporate team, Wise spent 15 years as a Partner of one of Freddy's largest franchisee groups, giving him firsthand experience as an operator and a deep understanding of what franchisees need to succeed.
“What immediately stood out to me about HTeaO was that it has all the right ingredients for sustained success,” said Brian Wise, Chief Executive Officer of HTeaO. “The quality of the product is unmatched, the guest experience is authentic, and there’s an incredible culture built around franchisees, team members and our corporate support staff all working toward the same goal. I’ve been in the franchisees’ shoes, so I understand the importance of a leadership team that listens. My focus will be working hand-in-hand with our franchise partners to strengthen operations, refine our systems and build an even more scalable model — so HTeaO can keep growing for decades while staying true to what makes this brand special.”
“Brian is exactly the leader HTeaO needs for its next chapter,” said Wayne Moore, Managing Partner of Crux Capital. “He has spent more than 20 years inside one of the best-run franchise systems in the country — first as an operator, and then as the executive who helped scale it to nearly 600 restaurants. That combination of operational discipline and genuine credibility with franchisees is rare. The team has built a category-defining brand, and Brian has the experience to institutionalize the talent, systems and infrastructure that will carry HTeaO to many times its current size.”
“Our decision to increase our investment and become majority shareholders reflects our deep conviction in HTeaO,” said Shravan Thadani, Partner at Trive Capital. “The brand’s passionate consumer following and nationwide whitespace are very compelling within the drive-thru beverage space. We are accelerating investments in the team, technology and infrastructure needed to support the next several hundred locations, and with Brian at the helm we believe HTeaO’s best years are ahead of it.”
For more information on HTeaO, visit www.HTeaO.com.
About HTeaO
HTeaO is the leading iced tea franchise in the United States, pioneering a fast-growing category within the broader beverage industry. With a cost-effective and attractive business model, the brand operates its own supply chain, resulting in reduced costs of goods for franchisees. Offering a range of ultra-premium tea, water and coffee products, HTeaO provides convenient service to customers both in-store and through drive-thru. Each location boasts 20+ meticulously crafted flavors of sweetened and unsweetened tea utilizing its proprietary water filtration system. HTeaO now operates more than 180 locations and continues its rapid national expansion. HTeaO is fostering an atmosphere where all are welcome and takes pride in its commitment to giving back to its local communities. For more information on franchise opportunities, please visit https://hteaofranchise.com/.
About Crux Capital
Crux Capital is a Dallas-based private equity firm focused on the support and growth of founder-led or family-owned businesses in the consumer and services sectors across the Sunbelt. The Firm partners with a select number of high-quality businesses and works with management teams to build value over the long term. Crux Capital’s team comprises seasoned professionals with deep operational and investment experience who implement strategies to unlock value in partnership with company management. For more information, visit www.crux-cap.com.
About Trive Capital
Trive Capital is a Dallas, Texas based private equity firm with more than $8 billion of regulatory assets under management. Trive focuses on investing equity and debt in what it sees as strategically viable middle-market companies with the potential for transformational upside through operational improvement. The Trive team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals who have been involved in over 250 middle-market transactions representing in excess of $10 billion in revenue across Trive's targeted industry sectors and situations. For more information, visit www.trivecapital.com.
Brian Wise has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of HTeaO, the nation’s leading iced tea franchise. (Photo courtesy of HTeaO)
Russia and Ukraine traded accusations Tuesday that each side’s attacks caused civilian deaths, with officials in the Moscow region saying five people were killed there while authorities in Ukraine said a similar number, including two children, died at various sites across the country.
Russia has relentlessly pounded civilian areas of Ukraine, even though Moscow insists its forces target only military facilities.
Since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion over four years ago, Ukraine has developed long-range drones that can strike deep inside Russia. In the past year, its forces have battered oil facilities, major storage depots and other key infrastructure.
More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war began, the United Nations said last month in its most recent casualty report, with the vast majority occurring in areas under the Ukrainian government’s control. Casualties have risen steadily each year.
Meanwhile, escalating attacks on shipping in the Black Sea by both sides has reawakened fears that global food security could be put at risk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on social media that he said showed a Russian drone hunting a man selling vegetables from a street stall in the southern city of Kherson.
The video shows the man trying to flee the drone as it circles his vehicle, follows him and ultimately strikes the car where he was trying to hide. He suffered wounds to his back, legs and arms, according to an interview he gave to the Kherson regional military administration.
Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately reply to an Associated Press request for comment.
Drone attacks on civilians have surged since the war began, with 967 people killed, including 10 children, and nearly 7,000 people injured, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Tuesday.
Russian drone operators track and strike civilians going about daily activities, according to previous AP reporting. A U.N. commission concluded in October 2025 that such attacks amounted to crimes against humanity.
“The world must see this,” Zelenskyy said. “It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians.”
The death toll from a drone strike Monday in the Russian Black Sea resort of Arkhipo-Osipovka rose to seven, including four children, regional authorities said.
On Tuesday, Krasnodar regional authorities updated the number of wounded to 58, with 21 hospitalized.
Video circulating online showed a drone slamming into a crowded beach with what sounded like gunfire in the background. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.
A Ukrainian drone attack Tuesday in the region around Moscow killed five people and wounded 10 others, said Gov. Andrei Vorobyov. Most of the damage occurred in the Chekhov municipal district, where several fires erupted at the Novoselki industrial zone, he said.
In the latest in a series of attacks attack on Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries, the company said its warehouse in the Leningrad region, adjacent to St. Petersburg, was on fire.
In the village of Emmaus, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, drone debris partially damaged a wall of a Wildberries warehouse, regional Gov. Vitaly Korolyov said.
In the past 18 days, Ukrainian drones have targeted 15 Wildberries warehouses, 13 of which caught fire, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. Ukrainian officials say the company provides goods that can be used by the military. Kyiv is also keen to unsettle the Russian public with high-profile attacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces on Monday night struck “Ukrainian ports, vessels and port infrastructure” used by Kyiv’s army.
In the port of Chornomorsk, in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Russia said it hit an automobile components plant and a port terminal, where the military vehicles were being repaired and ammunition and fuel were being stored.
In the southern port of Mykolaiv, a bulk carrier with military cargo was damaged, while in Pivdennyi, another Ukrainian port, a vessel unloading military cargo was hit, according to the Russian statement.
The ministry also said two bulk carriers hauling weapons and military equipment were damaged at sea, south of Odesa.
Turkey on Tuesday repeated its appeal for both countries to ensure safe passage in the Black Sea after two Turkish-owned ships were attacked by drones after leaving the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement expressed concerns that the war is increasingly spreading across the Black Sea, threatening merchant shipping, and warned such incidents could have broader consequences, including for the global food supply, as important shipments of grain, fertilizer and other key products move through those waters.
Russian attacks on Mykolaiv, including its port, killed an 89-year-old woman and wounded seven other people aged between 2 and 83, Ukrainian regional officials said.
The Russian strike on civilian infrastructure in southern Odesa region destroyed a private home and wounded two people, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration.
In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, six Russian glide bombs killed two girls aged 5 and 10 and an elderly woman, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration.
Russian forces also struck Kharkiv and 18 towns and villages across the northern region in the previous 24 hours, killing one person and injuring seven, including an 8-year-old, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.
Strikes in Balakliia, also in the Kharkiv region, damaged an apartment building, a library, three stores and more than 10 houses, wounding two women, local authorities said.
Two glide bombs struck Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, injuring 24 people, local officials said. Kramatorsk sits at the northern end of Ukraine’s Fortress Belt, where Western analysts say Russia is making a renewed effort to break through after four years of attrition.
Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, urged people still living near the front to evacuate, saying authorities would help with transportation, housing and other support.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, private houses destroyed following a night Russian missile attack are seen in Odesa region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a firefighter puts out a fire following a Russian missile attack in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
