Mama Fu’s Opens First Takeout, Delivery and Catering Focused Restaurant Location to Serve Arboretum Area
Answering consumer demand for more convenience in fresh, quality made-to-order cuisine, the company that trademarked flex-casual dining has opened its first prototype to focus on takeout, delivery and catering. Mama Fu’s Asian House, the Austin-based restaurant franchise specializing in fresh and innovative Asian cuisine, opened the first of this new, smaller prototype on April 14th to serve the Arboretum area in their hometown of Austin, TX.
Opening the doors at 10710 Research Blvd., next to HEB on Jollyville at Braker Lane, Mama Fu’s Takeout and Delivery finds itself in a premier location to better serve households not covered by the current Mama Fu’s locations in Lakeline and Triangle, while also catering to businesses along Highway 183 and MoPac. Having called Austin home for eight years, Mama Fu’s looks forward to now serving the Arboretum area, satisfying consumer cravings in one of the biggest sub-markets of Austin.
“This new scaled service and model prototype is a direct result of the lifestyle and dining behaviors of our customers,” said Randy Murphy, CEO of Mama Fu’s Asian House. “In conjunction with the recent release of our new mobile app and online ordering, the smaller prototype is a natural evolution for our brand as the Mama Fu’s customer enjoys versatility and convenience, as about fifty-percent of our business is already off-premise sales.”
A typical Mama Fu’s location is about 3,000 square-feet and offers take-out, delivery, and catering in addition to seating 90 guests in a flex-casual dining style, offering quick-serve dining during the hectic lunch hours and a full-service dining style for a more traditional dinner service. The direction of the new takeout, delivery and catering prototype is roughly 1,500-1,800 square-feet with 25-45 seats and can be scaled to as small as 1,300 square feet. The first opening on Research Blvd. is scaled to exclusively offer takeout, delivery and catering without seating, but has the same full-scale kitchen to maintain the culinary and quality output capacity as the traditional locations.
“Corporate and franchise locations will benefit from a higher profit with less revenue, which makes the new prototype a low-investment option with significant ROI,” added Murphy. “The reduced size not only increases real estate opportunities, but the complexity is also reduced so our partners can capitalize on improved unit level economics from labor, occupancy and utilities savings, a substantial increase in margin and capital payback from lower start-up costs, and reduced risk.”
The Mama Fu’s menu offers guests an option between a rice dish or noodle bowl, as well as their protein of choice from a selection of Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean cuisine. More health-conscious guests can order a steam bowl or salad, or have their protein steamed, a cooking method that reduces oils and starch. For a more exclusive look at menu innovations, Mama Fu’s rolls out a seasonal Black Market Menu every six months (October and April), showcasing the culinary team’s unique fusion of flavors with quality ingredients inspired by the chefs’ experiences traveling through China, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and Korea.
Mama Fu’s also offers a popular rewards program, the Funatics Club, through their mobile app (available online through Google Play or the App Store), which offers exclusive deals to Club members, such as the Black Market Menu, and keeps guests coming back to enjoy the Mama Fu’s experience.
Naturally evolving with consumer behavior, Mama Fu’s continues to innovate in order to keep up with demand. With its finger on the pulse of the market, Mama Fu’s has tapped the best way to reach and satisfy its customers through the new mobile app and refocused dining style that caters to the guest who craves fresh, made-to-order food options at their convenience.
To learn more about franchising opportunities, visit www.mamafusfranchise.com. To inquire, call 512-949-3211 or email franchise@mamafus.com.
Mama Fu’s specializes in freshly prepared Asian cuisine and offers a unique Flex Casual service model that includes a fast casual approach to lunch, with a transition to relaxed, full service at dinner. Combined with delivery, take-out, online and mobile ordering, and catering, Mama Fu’s is a convenient and delicious option for every dining occasion. Rolling out new locations in 2014, Mama Fu’s will launch a new smaller prototype (1,500 square-feet, in comparison to the traditional 3,000 square-foot locations) with a scaled-down dining area, focusing on off-premise channels like take out, delivery and catering. The company currently has 18 locations open and operating, with 60 additional locations currently in development.
