Mooyah’s strong Q1 sets stage for expansion

Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, which has over 90 locations, has spent the first quarter planning to expand through the remainder of 2023. With three openings and an additional 13 slotted for the rest of the year, the burger concept is expanding in St. Louis, Lubbock, Phoenix, Southern California, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boca Raton and Boston.

“There are some pretty obvious places that we’re trying to fill in,” Doug Willmarth, president and COO, said in a company press release. “We have core markets in the sun belt from California to Florida, and we are filling in those territories while building our growing brand presence in the Midwest.”

The three most recent openings occurred in Carlsbad, California, in partnership with Green Madness Group; Gallatin, Tennessee, owned by Jake and Erin Rightmyer; and Fairfield, California, owned by Indy Pahwa, who is also president of Bay Valley Development.

The brand is working to lay a foundation to sign 15 franchisees to join the brand by the end of the year and has a prototype rolling out that decreases square footage and optimizes for off-premise sales. With its first drive-thru location under construction and the recently launched franchise owner incentives, Willmarth said he is looking forward to strong demand for franchisees in the coming quarters.

A key offering, for example, is Mooyah’s reduced royalty option, which allows qualified franchise owners , who secure a lease in 2023, to pay zero royalties for the remainder of the year and benefit from reduced royalties for three additional years.

“Mooyah will be accelerating our unit growth significantly in the next three years, and the new incentive creates a great opportunity for new Franchise Owners to increase their returns,” Willmarth said in the release.

The chain has also hired Gary Lisenbee as VP of ops services to help franchisees.

“Gary Lisenbee has a really strong background in restaurant training, operations support, and franchise owner engagement,” Willmarth said in the release. “Gary is a critical addition to the leadership team, We’ve been strengthening the executive leadership and recognizing that, with this growth initiative in place, we need our training and operational support to be as strong as it can be.”

Willmarth added that the hire signifies an evolution of the brand. For the first time ever, there is a member of the leadership team specifically dedicated to operational services who will support each restaurant in launching and running more efficiently.