News

Entrepreneur showcases Lime Fresh Mexican Grill

December 18, 2011

John Kunkel, the founder of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, has been featured in Entrepreneur. The publication talks about Kunkel's vision for Lime Fresh and the company's licensee deal with Ruby Tuesday.

From the story:

When John Kunkel looked at the design of casual burrito restaurants, he noticed most put an emphasis on speed.

"At so many places, like Chipotle or Qdoba or Moe's, it's cold, hard plastic. The interiors scream, 'Finish your food and move along,'" Kunkel says.

Are you afraid of losing the soul of the concept to Ruby Tuesday?
They are literally a franchisee. It's not often a billion-dollar company becomes a licensee of a 10-unit chain. Ruby was looking for ways to provide value to its shareholders and was scouting emerging brands. It took a long time to outline an agreement we were both comfortable with. We keep total control of the brand, and Ruby Tuesday has been passionate about keeping our operating standards and not changing anything. It's been a healthy relationship, and they've helped us achieve better pricing.

Ruby Tuesday said in its third quarter 2011 earnings report that it has plans to launch test rollouts of Lime Fresh in the Washington, D.C., and core Southeast markets such as Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

The company has six Lime Fresh locations on its development schedule and is in negotiation for several more, the report said.