Sweet Home Chicago: MOOYAH Opens First Location in Oak Lawn

MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a fast-casual, “better burger” chain, is prepping for its debut in Chicago’s south suburbs. MOOYAH’s Oak Lawn location, which opened on July 13, 2015, is located at 6256 West 95^th Street. The location is owned and operated by father/son team, Faysal and Kal Mohamed, who will also be opening their second location by late summer or early fall of 2015 in Joliet. The openings are part of MOOYAH’s plan to expand across the greater Chicago area and add ten additional restaurants over the next two years.

“I was looking to invest in the very best option in the booming ‘better burger’ industry,” said Kal Mohamed. “I came across MOOYAH and was very impressed with the food, atmosphere and knew this would be a perfect business opportunity and addition to the Chicagoland area.”

The Mohamed family knows a good business when they see one. For 25 years, Faysal and Kal have worked in real estate development and management – developing shopping centers with successful businesses. Faysal got his start with the Great Steak & Potato restaurant and Kal also had a chain of cell phone stores. They are entrepreneurs at heart and are excited about this next step in their careers.

“The Chicago area is in for a real treat over the next few months,” said Michael Mabry, chief operating officer of MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes*. “MOOYAH is a great fit for Oak Lawn and Joliet, and the Mohamed’s are the perfect family to bring the MOOYAH brand to these areas.”

The Mohamed’s have signed up to open ten locations in the Chicagoland area, focusing on the suburbs. Once the Oak Lawn and Joliet locations are up and running, they will begin looking for their next development spots.

“MOOYAH is focused on families, relationships, great food and giving back to the community,” Kal added. “That is the perfect recipe for success in the restaurant industry, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do in Chicagoland.”

At MOOYAH, Guests have the advantage of choosing from a variety of bun options, such as baked in-house artisan white or multigrain wheat buns and hand-crafted lettuce buns to accompany the never-frozen 100 percent American beef patty, all-natural Jennie-O turkey patty or the mouthwatering black bean veggie patty. Each gourmet burger can be customized with five cheese options, applewood smoked bacon, sliced avocado, along with nine free veggie toppings and 11 free sauces.

MOOYAH French fries come together in a six-step process that takes a total of 24 hours to completely prepare. A delightful combination of constant attention and a little magic help transform U.S. #1 Idaho potatoes into perfect, crisp-on-the-outside and fluffy-on-the-inside fries. Guests also have the choice of savory sweet potato fries. Never one to forget dessert, MOOYAH offers real ice cream shakes, allowing Guests to choose from 10 flavors ranging from vanilla to Hershey’s chocolate to Reese’s to strawberry banana and more.

In 2015, MOOYAH is on pace to open 30 new locations and reach the milestone of 100 before the close of the year. The booming better burger brand is set to enter several new states in 2015, with the first MOOYAH restaurants in Indiana, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida scheduled to open this year. Additionally, the brand will increase their established presence in states including California, Texas, Illinois, and Louisiana, with five more scheduled openings in New Jersey alone. The brand continues to spread the unique MOOYAH experience beyond domestic borders too. MOOYAH will open their first restaurant in Qatar in 2015, marking the 7^th country MOOYAH has entered outside the U.S.