Moe’s Southwest Grill, the fast-growing restaurant franchise best known for its flavorful southwest fare and distinct brand culture, has signed a deal that will bring an additional 25 restaurants to the Washington D.C. Metro area over the next six years.
Leading the growth will be three existing Moe’s franchise partners – Brad Chasteen, Steve Taylor and Frank Maresca – who will oversee the surge of Moe’s locations in Washington under the trio’s newly formed entity, Guac N’ Roll. Chasteen currently owns 19 Moe’s in Northeast Florida, Taylor owns 9 Moe’s throughout Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Including Maresca’s two restaurants owned in Northern Virginia, the group recently acquired 7 existing locations. Maresca will serve as the local operating partner for the company.
“The demographics of the Washington marketplace are a perfect match for the Moe’s brand – you have a mix of families and professionals,” said Chasteen, who was born and raised in Washington. “We’re really excited to take our experience from some of the top Moe’s markets like Jacksonville, FL and Columbia, SC and apply that here.”
The restaurants will open throughout Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. The group is currently scouting locations and expects the first new Moe’s to open by the end of 2012. The announcement also means that 500 new jobs will be brought to the metro area.
Moe’s Southwest Grill has continued to outpace competitors by offering a fun, unmistakable culture, as well as fresh, made-to-order food with more than 20 flavorful ingredients. All meals, including signature items like the Homewrecker burrito, Close Talker salad and John Coctostan quesadilla, are served with free chips and salsa. Although Moe’s is best known for its burritos packed with fresh ingredients, the menu also features kids, vegetarian, and low-calorie options.
While consumers flock to Moe’s when it opens a new restaurant, the company is also attracting a record number of franchise inquiries from entrepreneurs who want to be associated with the “it” restaurant brand. The company has grown to more than 440 locations in just 10 years.
“Putting three of our most aggressive and smart franchise partners together in one market is really exciting,” said Moe’s President Paul Damico. “The fact that we have three best of class Moe’s operators behind these restaurants in D.C. is really going to make us stand out.”
The deal is part of Moe’s strategic growth plan to double its existing presence to a total of 800 locations nationwide by the end of 2015.
Moe’s Southwest Grill is a fast-casual restaurant franchise featuring fresh southwest fare in a fun and engaging atmosphere with over 440 locations in 33 states. At Moe’s, each meal is prepared right before your eyes and is served with free chips and salsa, including the Homewrecker burrito, the Billy Barou nachos, and the Close Talker salad. Founded in 2000, Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill was ranked #1 in category in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 in 2010 and is a Gold Award winner of the 2008 Consumer’s Choice in Chains Awards. For more information, visit www.moesfranchise.com.
