How Mighty Quinn’s is Taking BBQ Where Others Can’t

Traditionally, meat-smoking has been one of the most time-consuming and operationally taxing endeavors a restaurant can undertake. Smoking even a single piece of meat takes hours, sometimes a full day, and the smoker itself requires more space than most restaurants can accommodate. That’s why smoking has historically been reserved for specialty BBQ shacks and avoided by high-volume restaurants in places like New York City, where speed of service is at a premium and real estate prices all but prohibit a commercial smoker.

Yet, it’s in the New York metro area where chef Hugh Mangum and entrepreneurs Micha Magid and Christos Gourmos opened not one but 10 Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque restaurants, each serving authentic wood-smoked BBQ, something Mangum says was previously unheard of.

Mighty Quinn’s 10 locations in New York and New Jersey are not just a result of the brand’s success, they are also instrumental to the brand’s operations model. The smoking kitchen at Mighty Quinn’s flagship restaurant in the East Village partially feeds each of the brand’s nine other New York locations, so each can serve freshly smoked meat without having to operate a smoker on-site. While the investment required for a smoking kitchen is higher than a traditional buildout, it can quickly find a return when servicing additional locations.

Operational efficiency

By designing a concept explicitly around scalability, Mighty Quinn’s cracked the code for operationally efficient smoked BBQ, and in doing so, opened up entirely new markets for the previously niche product. In addition to Mighty Quinn’s 10 corporate locations, the franchise has also established thriving restaurants in Taiwan, the Philippines and Dubai.

Mangum says Mighty Quinn’s success abroad proves the appeal for authentic BBQ is universal.

“Barbeque is so cross-cultural, it appeals to just about every demographic,” he says. “Our restaurants get men and women of all ages and from all different backgrounds, every day. People from other countries really go crazy for it because it’s something you can’t normally get outside of the U.S.”

Brand expansion plans

As Mighty Quinn’s continues to expand into new markets, Mangum says the brand remains rooted in an authentic barbeque experience, from the wood-smoked meat to the reclaimed-wood tables to the classic-rock soundtrack.

“Barbeque has always been about fun and family, and that’s the atmosphere we have in our restaurants,” he said. “It feels like a barbeque at your friend’s house. We play Johnny Cash and Foo Fighters, The Ramones — stuff that’s fun and authentic.”

That commitment to authenticity extends even to the real estate Mighty Quinn’s leases. Where most restaurant chains look for a single, consistent look and footprint across units, Mangum says Mighty Quinn’s “builds in the space [they] get” so that each restaurant feels unique and like a natural extension of the existing space.

That infrastructural flexibility may be built into Mighty Quinn’s DNA. The brand’s first restaurant, after all, wasn’t even restaurant; it was a driveway — Mangum’s.

“We started the brand in a flea market out of my driveway, where I kept a smoker in a trailer,” Mangum said. “My wife drew the logo by hand. It was a true family operation, and I think people can still feel that today.”

This year, Mighty Quinn’s is introducing franchise locations, to new markets across the country, and Mangum is confident the brand will continue to find a broad audience everywhere it goes.

“This is a concept that is appealing everywhere we go,” he said. “People love barbeque, but few have gotten a chance to try real, authentic wood-smoked barbeque, and we’re excited to give them the opportunity.”