Restaurant chain Moe’s looks to expand
Moe’s Southwest Grill eyes several areas in Chesco, Montco, Delco
“Welcome to Moe’s!” Fans of Moe’s Southwest Grill recognize that phrase as the greeting they receive in every Moe’s restaurant — shouted by employees as soon as a customer walks through the door.
The greeting is part of the culture of Moe’s, and soon, more people across the tri-county region will have a chance to hear it.
Bruce Schroder, the president and CEO of Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill, said the company will be expanding its footprint in Pennsylvania as it pushes closer to center city Philadelphia.
Among the planned locations for regional expansion are: Exton and West Chester in Chester County, Abington and North Wales in Montgomery County and Wayne in Delaware County, although Schroder added that the expansion will likely happen in Chester County first.
“We have several franchise owners in the area developing now. The next 3 to 5 years will see us try to develop critical mass in the market where real estate allows,” Schroder said, adding that he expects between 6 and 12 new stores across the area.
One of the area’s franchisees that is excited about what’s to come is 38-year-old Travis Odom, who currently owns and operates eight Moe’s locations across the region — as a single owner and in partnership with another franchisee.
Odom has been a fan of Moe’s for a long time, first discovering the brand when he was living in South Carolina.
“I had a passion for the brand before I became a franchisee. It’s a great brand and I am very excited about the future. As we continue to grow and evolve, it excites me,” he said. And while he said he would like to continue to grow as a franchisee, Odom did not share his specific plans.
“We have future growth plans, but nothing finite and detailed,” he added.
Odom opened his first Moe’s franchise in Wyomissing in 2009, followed by a restaurant in Exeter in 2013. As he looked to expand, Odom said he ultimately partnered with the owner of Moe’s restaurants in Oaks, King of Prussia and Drexel Hill, as well as several Delaware locations.
Moe’s Southwest Grill was founded in Atlanta in 2000 and has more than 700 stores, mainly in the eastern portion of the country. Forty-three Moe’s are located in Pennsylvania. Schroder, who has been with the brand for the
past three years, said in an interview with Digital First Media that the company has been aggressively expanding.
Schroder said the strategy for Moe’s expansion has been what he calls “outside – in, starting in the suburbs and then moving inward.”
He added that the time was right to expand across the Greater Philadelphia region.
“We think this particular area makes sense for us. We use predictive analytics to help us see where the best opportunities for us lie, and there are several areas in this market where it makes sense to locate,” Schroder said, adding that the company identifies its cores customers, “then we draw on a map — where those core customers are.”
So just who is the core customer for Moe’s? Schroder said it’s really several groups of customers: families that like the “familyfriendly restaurants and the value Moe’s offers;” younger guests that are “into the brand’s app and the convenience of online ordering;” and more discriminating customers who are “into quality and freshness.”
In 2017, Moe’s earned nearly $716 million in system wide sales, up from approximately $688 million in 2016. In the 2017 Harris Poll’s 29th annual EquiTrend study, Moe’s retained its Fast Casual Mexican Restaurant Brand of the Year title, leading other restaurants with high Quality and Consideration scores.
“Mexican food is the No. 2 category — we just eclipsed pizza. In our particular area — we’re looking to increase the market penetration. If we don’t, someone else will. It’s tough to come in, if you’re not first in the market,” he said.
Schroder said there has been an increase in the popularity of Mexican food.
“It’s a combination of freshness, variety and healthfulness. There are more ways to enjoy it, and you can make it as healthy or as indulgent as you want to make it,” he said.
What sets Moe’s Southwest Grill apart from others in the market segment is that phrase — “Welcome to Moe’s.”
“We like having a welcoming environment and helping our guests find their flavor. We’re not overly prescriptive about telling them what to eat. We serve food as fresh as possible. But it’s ‘Welcome to Moe’s’ that’s the biggest element,” he said.
Moving forward, Schroder said Moe’s will be adding drive-thru windows, especially to newer stores; a concept the chain has been test marketing.
“We are just beyond test marketing and they have been successful. We’re pleased with it,” he said.
While he could not provide specifics about how big the chain will ultimately get, Schroder said the company has “ambitious goals.”
“There is still a healthy opportunity east of the Mississippi without stretching the brand. We’ll go concentrically from there to keep marketing efficient continue to grow.”