News

Muscle Maker Grill ghosting Chicago

Provided

February 27, 2020

Muscle Maker Grill and Healthy Joe's, sister concepts specializing in healthy food based on the East Coast, are moving into Chicago but as delivery-only concepts. Their parent company, Muscle Maker Grill Inc., has signed a 10-location agreement with a delivery-only kitchen provider, and although CEO Mike Roper wouldn't name the partner, he called it a "major industry-leading" facility that has opened facilities in several key markets.

"The delivery-only kitchen concept will allow Muscle Maker Grill and Healthy Joe's to expand quickly, and with limited required capex, nationwide into major cities across America creating name recognition and economies of scale," he said in a company press release. "Delivery is already a large portion of Muscle Maker Grill's business model in major metropolitan areas, with some of our urban locations posting up to 80% delivery sales."

Muscle Maker, which launched an IPO earlier this month, plans to open its first five delivery-only kitchens in the Chicago market this April and has sights on other major metropolitan markets for future growth. 

"Delivery continues to grow as a percentage of revenue throughout the QSR market, and we want to be well-positioned to expand our geographic reach to accommodate demand," Roper said. "We see this agreement as an exciting first step, with what can be a much larger opportunity over the near term. This opportunity supports the brand's long-term strategy of corporate-owned and operated locations in non-traditional areas such as military bases, universities and airports."