Under Leadership of New President, MOOYAH Charts Ambitious Growth Plan

Leaders at MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes are building on the momentum from last year’s record-breaking success of having 38 locations exceed the million-dollar mark, as well as signing seven deals for 39 new locations; they're making plans to continue breaking records year after year. The best burger brand’s new president, Doug Willmarth, joined MOOYAH in December 2021, and, along with other key leadership members, including Mike Sebazco, EVP of Operations and Development, Sarah Beddoe, VP of Marketing, and CEO Anand Gala, he is focused on franchisee success, signing 20 deals for 90 locations in the next 12 months, and filling out high-potential markets where there is already a presence and loyal fans of the brand.

Willmarth says even though he joined in the last quarter of 2021, he was able to witness the brand’s strength through the pandemic despite challenges like labor shortages and supply chain issues. The brand thrived as franchise owners broke records for the highest sales average ever in 2021 and are poised to do it again in 2022. 

“The next 12 months are ‘go time,’” said Willmarth. “We have added talented new team members and have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to make the menu more profitable for our franchise owners, build the brand, and upgrade our systems. MOOYAH has been successful the last few years because we offer consumers the high-quality and amazing taste they want while building a business system where Franchise Owners can succeed and grow. We have been preparing for explosive growth as we open new markets and finalize plans for our first drive-thru locations in 2023. We plan to open up to 20 new restaurants in the next 12 months, so we've been ramping up our capabilities. We've added a lot of new franchise owners who are building, but many of our new locations are coming from existing Franchisees looking to grow their business with MOOYAH. I especially appreciate the vote of confidence when existing owners choose to grow with us. My job is making sure our team is ready to hit it out of the park.”

As Willmarth rallies the support team for rapid growth, Sebazco develops relationships with potential and existing franchise partners as the brand continues to expand its footprint primarily in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.

“This year, we are benefiting from continued growth in sales and continued improvements in restaurant-level profitability. We have done a great job with managing costs and supply chain in the last few months, and I think franchise owners are going to have an easier path the rest of this year,” said Sebazco. “We dealt with the craziness of the last few years, but the road ahead looks to be less challenging to operate.”

Gala echoed this sentiment, saying his number-one priority is to help franchise owners — and the leadership team — exceed their expectations. He realizes that the numbers from last year indicate that the brand is doing well and provide validation that guests and franchise partners are satisfied with the brand, and he wants to continue feeding that success by helping in any way possible. Additionally, Gala noted that Willmarth’s addition to the leadership team has brought new ideas and a fresh perspective as MOOYAH enters its next chapter of growth that will be an invaluable resource for franchise owners’ success. 

“Doug brings a very strong ability to think strategically and long term about the business and has a very diverse background,” said Gala. “He’s been in the military, worked at large consumer packaged goods companies, and led brand growth at a number of other QSR and fast-casual restaurant brands. He has a very unique perspective on what can be done. Not only does he bring a diverse perspective from within the industry, but he also brings an interesting perspective from coming from outside of the industry. And those things, in combination, I think, with his experience and his intelligence, lead him to be a very strategic, strong leader — and someone who really takes a deep interest in the development of the team and our franchise owners. He has a true servant leadership mentality.”

The investment range to open a MOOYAH is $551,918 to $715,161. Learn more about franchising with MOOYAH at https://franchise.mooyah.com/.