Moe's Southwest Grill has signed an agreement to take the Fresh Mex chain into international territory. Moe's has sold a master franchise agreement to develop the concept in Turkey with master licensee David Ergisi. He plans to open the first of 40 Moe's locations in September in Istanbul's Sapphire Towers, the city's tallest building.
Moe's president Paul Damico said Turkey is one of several international markets the company had planned to target. Ergisi, a Turkish native, lived in the United States for about 20 years before recently moving back to his home country.
"He watched over the last 10 years the Moe's brand grow exponentially in the town of Jacksonville," Damico said. "And when he got back (to Istanbul) he was blown away by the proliferation of brands across the country. It's always a risk when signing a new franchisee, and we're making a bigger risk by taking it to Turkey. But he understands the supply chain, and he understands the market."
Damico said Moe's should do well in Turkey because of the variety of ingredients the chain has to offer. Moe's gives its customers a selection of burritos, tacos and other fare featuring six protein varieties and 25 other ingredient options.
While some of the Moe's menu items will be enhanced with local flavors, "the core concept will stay the same and our core ingredients will not change," Damico said. "You can start to see these types of menu items establish themselves in Turkey. They are also on menus in other restaurant concepts."
Moe's, operating under the FOCUS Brands umbrella, has targeted 11 countries overall for its franchise growth. Those countries include Lebanon, Omar, Qatar, Singapore and Malaysia.
"The leading indicator of success is that the franchise partner makes money and that happens if the economic model of brand is successful," Damico said. "Today, we know exactly what makes the economic model of our brand work."
Moe's joins a slew of other fast casual brands heading for international territories.
Camille's Sidewalk Cafe, FreshBerry, Elevation Burger and Baja Fresh also have all announced plans this year to open in international markets.
