Courtesy: Mooyah Burgers
A Plano-based burger chain just announced it plans on expanding to Fort Worth and beyond.
The playfully named Mooyah Burger, Fries & Shakes is gearing up to open several locations in Cowtown and nationwide, according to the Fort Worth Report.
This announcement comes a mere month after this locally owned food chain was voted to have the best burger in DFW in a poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News.
Currently, this counter-serve burger chain has about 100 locations nationally, 14 of which are located in the north Texas area.
Doug Willmarth, president of the Mooyah’s chain says he knows that the company has room to expand, which is all part of this Plano-based burger concept’s 2023 plan. “We’ve got a couple of franchisees who are looking for new territory in the market right now and corporate is looking at a couple [of] locations too,” he said.
Nationwide, Mooyah’s has opened locations in California, Louisiana, Florida, and Abilene, Texas, over the past year. It is now focused on development activity in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Arizona and supporting the company’s franchise owners in Houston, Las Vegas, Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh, Nashville, Orlando, and Richmond.
On top of these expansions, Willmarth believes there is room for at least 25 more Mooyahs in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. “There’s still plenty of upside here,” he says.
Mooyah’s opened in 2007 and quickly became known for its custom burgers, which include a veggie and vegan twist on the aforementioned American classic. Other menu items for this establishment include nontraditional artisan bun options like lettuce wraps and gluten-free, hand-cut Idaho potato fries, plus ice cream shakes. Willmarth emphasized that many of the menu items are hand-made and custom cooked to order, so it’s not fast food by any means.
On that note, Willmarth pointed out that Mooyah’s wants to add and expand to a drive-thru format. “That’s something we’re working on,” he says. According to Willmarth, studies show that young consumers, in particular, don’t like to leave their cars.
“The pandemic only made that more of a necessity for restaurants like ours,” Willmarth says. “That’s a challenge for us because we’re not fast food, but we’ve got some solutions coming.”
