Franchise News

Moe's Southwest Grill®, an innovative fast-casual restaurant franchise that serves high quality menu items including burritos, quesadillas, famous queso and more, announced today the modernization and refresh of more than 50 restaurants in the Greater Atlanta market. Home to Moe's and the brand's largest market, Atlanta is the latest city to experience Moe's evolution following refreshes in Nashville, TN; Charleston, SC; and Rochester, NY. These restaurants in Atlanta now feature a dedicated off-premise service line to support growing digital business driven by online orders and an increase in catering demand, especially for items like the popular Fajita, Taco and Nacho Bar options. Additional upgrades include new front and back-of-house design, exterior signage, logo and menu boards, as well as a new POS system to make checkout faster and more secure.

"It's important that we continue to invest in our brand to remain relevant and increase guest accessibility. Our refreshed look and feel in Atlanta will provide our loyal fans the opportunity to experience a modern Moe's that still offers the familiar menu items they crave," said Alex Williams, Chief Brand Officer for Moe's Southwest Grill. "The Moe's brand has been beloved for more than 20 years and we're excited to present a design that matches the 'Welcome to Moe's!' energy and enthusiasm we've conveyed for two decades."

In addition to an improved aesthetic, Moe's evolved design is yielding good results for franchisees. Locations in Nashville and Rochester are showing positive sales growth and traffic. A new service training program, aptly called W2M (Welcome to Moe's!), will also help franchise owners maintain a welcoming environment for guests and team members. Additionally, Moe's launched Kids Eat Free nationally in April to drive family dining on Sundays. As a result, the innovative fast casual leader is seeing significant comp sales growth and larger check sizes.

"I've spent everyday for the last 12 years inside a Moe's restaurant hearing our crews proudly shout 'Welcome to Moe's!' to each and every guest," said Mark Monroe, a Moe's Franchisee. "That famous greeting has stood for the promise that everyone is welcome at Moe's. This modernization effort is imperative to making sure that we provide our loyal guests with a more seamless online ordering experience, updated interiors with engaging in-store graphics showing our bold personality and a new logo - all while serving the same delicious food they crave and greeting them with the familiar 'Welcome to Moe's!' that started it all." 

Moe's Southwest Grill is also investing in consumer-focused innovation to remain competitive in the growing fast casual space. The brand recently updated its app to focus on the digital ordering experience and features a compelling loyalty program with offers tailored for its guests. Moe's is also piloting a new beverage offering and has plans to roll out exciting LTO menu items throughout the remainder of the year, the most recent LTO being the Buffalo Queso Taco.

Moe's Southwest Grill currently has more than 700 restaurants in 40 states and is part of the Focus Brands family of brands, which includes Auntie Anne's^®, Carvel^®, Cinnabon^®, Jamba^®, McAlister's Deli^® and Schlotzsky's^®.

Moe's is continuing with its aggressive expansion and is focusing on adding drive-thru locations in key states like Florida and Ohio, as well as cities such as Indianapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The brand is looking to open more than 20 locations in 2021 across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. For more information about franchise opportunities, call 800-227-8353 or email [email protected].

Welcome to Moe's!^® Founded in 2000 and based in Atlanta, GA, Moe's Southwest Grill is a fast-casual restaurant franchise that serves high quality and fresh southwestern food. Moe's has an extensive variety of menu items to please the entire family – from burritos to specialty items like quesadillas, nachos and stacks. Whether you visit one of our more than 700 franchised locations or have us cater your next event, free chips and salsa come with every order and each restaurant has a salsa bar and serves our famous queso. Check us out online at www.moes.com to find a store near you, and then connect with us on Instagram, Twitter  and Facebook.

Atlanta-based Focus Brands is a leading developer of global multi-channel foodservice brands. Focus Brands, through its affiliate brands, is the franchisor and operator of more than 6,000 restaurants, cafes, ice cream shoppes, and bakeries in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and over 50 foreign countries under the brand names Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli and Schlotzsky's, as well as Seattle's Best Coffee on certain military bases and in certain international markets. Please visit www.focusbrands.com to learn more.

Nadia Caron
[email protected]