Young Ones to Watch: Kyle Noonan, Founder of FreeRange Concepts and MUTTS Canine Cantina

Kyle Noonan, 39, was always drawn to the restaurant industry. He and partner Josh Sepkowitz founded FreeRange Concepts in 2011, a Dallas-based restaurant management company that has created several concept-driven restaurants in Texas including Bowl & Barrel, The Rustic, The General Public—and in 2013, MUTTS Canine Cantina. MUTTS is a membership-based dog park and bar that caters to both two-legged and four-legged guests and features a full-service kitchen and bar with goodies for all.  

The innovative fast casual restaurant and bar offers a place where dogs can run, exercise and play in the fresh air while their owners relax and socialize. The private dog park offers daily passes, monthly subscriptions and annual memberships.

1851 caught up with Noonan to discuss why he and Sepkowitz decided to franchise MUTTS Canine Cantina, why he’s excited about the industry and MUTTS’ overall concept, and where the brand draws inspiration from. 

1851: What initially drew you to franchising?

Noonan: When we created MUTTS, we didn’t just create a dog park/restaurant and bar, we created a new category—one that didn’t really exist until MUTTS was created. And because we wanted to scale with as much velocity as possible, we felt that the best way to do that was through a franchise model. We didn’t just want to be the category creator, we wanted to be the category leader and the category killer—we knew that franchising was the way we were going to achieve that. We designed each aspect of MUTTS to be pretty “plug-and-play” for new franchisees. We have a streamlined process that is easy to execute. 

1851: Where do you see the most opportunity in franchising and why are you excited about the future of the industry?

Noonan: I love the idea of MUTTS and I think our brand has a culture that has embraced entrepreneurialism to a level that we’ve never seen before. Quite frankly, it’s hard to create new concepts and new businesses, but franchising is a great opportunity for someone who wants to be entrepreneurial, but doesn’t want to spend the time or the money figuring it all out on their own. Franchising is a great opportunity for someone to own a business that’s already proven and successful, and in MUTTS case, it’s a very unique, fun and profitable business.

Additionally, there’s a lot of opportunities in franchising to connect to consumers. They want a sense of community—a brand that is local and personalized to them. So, if a brand can position itself as a part of the community, the chances of its success increase exponentially.

1851: What advice do you have for other young up-and-comers in the space?

Noonan: I think that patience is the No. 1 thing I would tell myself and any young up-and-comer. Things don’t happen overnight—you think they will, but they don’t and that’s the reality of it. Patience is one of the most important attributes you have to have in order to stay the course and meet your goals. The other thing I would say is to stay true to your brand. Know your brand DNA and stay true to it. In this industry, you hear about it all the time and I call it the “you know what you ought to do guy”; someone constantly telling you what you should or shouldn’t do, which makes it easy to get sidetracked from your goals. Staying true to your brand DNA will help you weave through all the noise. 

1851: What advice would you give your younger self?

Noonan: A lot of the advice I would give to other young up-and-comers is also what would I tell my younger self to do. However, I would tell my younger self to stay patient and keep things simple. Simplicity is paramount for scale and patience is important because things never happen as quickly as you would want them to. 

1851: Who is someone you look to for inspiration?

Noonan: I am inspired every day by our team members and our guests. I talk with our team members, those who are on the front line and close to the action, and get all kinds of feedback and ideas from our conversations. And, then, I do the same with our guests. I enjoy talking with them and getting their feedback and new ideas on how we can make their experience better. The unique thing about MUTTS is that it’s a “membership-based dog park and bar,” so our guests aren’t just guests, but they’re also members. So in turn, each guest has a very vested interest in MUTTS, looking at it as “their dog park and their bar” because they are a paying member. It’s almost like a country club membership, so our guests want the best for it. We have a lot of loyal guests who give really good advice, so it’s hard not to draw inspiration from them.