--- title: "MOOYAH Burgers, Fries and Shakes to Open Times Square Flagship Location with Major Exposure to New Yorkers, Domestic and International Travelers" url: https://burnaze.com/article/b299c918-294b-4515-ac52-2bf3527cfbcd source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/mooyah-burgers-fries-and-shakes-to-open-times-square-flagship-location-with-major-exposure-to-new-yorkers-domestic-and-international-travelers-2713728 category: "Burger" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Burger" topics: ["Development & multi-unit"] published: 2020-11-24T19:14:19.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:27:22.348Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/e1aa92456e60aa15b1f7f2e779ddb5eb8100.jpg --- # MOOYAH Burgers, Fries and Shakes to Open Times Square Flagship Location with Major Exposure to New Yorkers, Domestic and International Travelers **TL;DR:** MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes is opening a flagship location in Times Square, New York, to increase brand exposure and attract new customers and franchisees. The brand plans to open 14 new locations in 2020 and remodel existing locations with a new design. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-11-24. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/mooyah-burgers-fries-and-shakes-to-open-times-square-flagship-location-with-major-exposure-to-new-yorkers-domestic-and-international-travelers-2713728).* ## Key facts - MOOYAH to open Times Square location - 14 new locations planned for 2020 - Brand to feature revamped interior design ## Story MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, the leading fast-casual, “better burger” restaurant franchise that provides Guests with mouthwatering made-to-order burgers, French fries hand cut from Idaho potatoes and real ice cream shakes, is about to gain serious exposure to new brand fans and potential franchisees with the opening of its Times Square flagship restaurant. MOOYAH announced that it will open the first-of-its-kind restaurant in Times Square in the heart of the city, at the ground floor of the Moxy Hotel, marking a new era of exposure for the brand that will catapult franchise awareness to a new level. “In the most iconic city in the world, the MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes Times Square restaurant will showcase our brand on a global stage and inspire countless new loyal Guests who might just want to bring our ridiculous food to their own hometowns,” said CEO Tony Darden. “The visibility of the location is truly unbeatable and will create an amazing opportunity to introduce our delicious menu, industry-leading mobile offering and refreshed restaurant design to an unprecedented number of Guests and franchise prospects.” ## New york location The new 1,200-square-foot flagship Times Square MOOYAH restaurant will feature the brand’s revamped interior design, which launched in early 2020 and includes state-of-the-art dining areas and seating arrangements, third-party and to-go pick-up areas, a closed-off kitchen, digital menu boards and an eye-popping logo refresh. In addition, the Times Square flagship will appeal to the “city that never sleeps” with extended hours of operation, as well as a beer and liquor license. Guests will be encouraged to use the #MOOYAHNYC hashtag on their social media accounts in order to see their posts displayed on a screen in the restaurant. MOOYAH is looking forward to seeing the Guest reaction through social media interaction and will consider rolling out the initiative systemwide. “This will undoubtedly be our most innovative restaurant design yet,” said Darden. “At all of our locations, MOOYAH not only uses its own mobile ordering app but has also focused on third-party delivery and catering through our technology partners. From a catering and delivery standpoint, we expect this location to be a major success. Our high-quality, made-to-order food has always set us apart from the competition, but now by adding this world-class design, our valued Guests will truly be getting the best ‘better burger’ experience anywhere.” ## Franchising efforts The Times Square opening comes at a critical point for the brand, as the company is actively ramping up franchising efforts in new and existing markets across the U.S. MOOYAH plans to open 14 new locations in 2020, all of which will feature the brand’s updated design. Restaurants currently under construction in Hoover, Alabama, and Orlando, Florida were the first to unveil the brand’s new design in the first quarter. In addition, the franchise will work with Franchise Owners to remodel 12 existing locations in 2020, and all existing locations will remodel to the new design by the end of 2024. “New York City offers the best brand exposure in the world and we are confident that this midtown location will springboard further franchise development not only across the state, but also nationwide,” said Darden. “The franchisees of this Times Square operation, Nick and Art Depole, have very impressive entrepreneurial backgrounds, and we are thrilled to have them as ambassadors for the brand in such a high visibility area.” Nick and Art Depole were raised in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Art started a successful sneaker resale company in the early 2000s, gathering in-depth experience and business acumen along the way. When the brothers decided to transition out of the retail industry and diversify their portfolio, they completed due diligence on a variety of brands such as BurgerIM before deciding MOOYAH Burger, Fries and Shakes was the best fit to bring to the Big Apple. “My brother Nick and I have always been huge fans of MOOYAH and frequented the restaurant in Irvine, California,” said Art. “After doing our research of other burger franchises, including BurgerIM, we were blown away by MOOYAH’s proven business model, strong unit-level economics and streamlined operations. The entire leadership team was incredibly flexible and supported us from day one as we worked out all of the details for this groundbreaking location in New York City.” ## Brand growth Although MOOYAH Burgers, Fries and Shakes already operates in 20 states around the country, Darden and the MOOYAH team are confident that the Times Square location will take the brand to the next level in terms of visibility and growth. MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes is a fast-casual, “better burger” concept offering mouthwatering made-to-order burgers, French fries hand cut from Idaho potatoes, and real ice cream shakes. Founded in 2007, the Plano, Texas-based company serves fresh, 100% Certified Angus Beef® brand burgers, all natural Jennie-O® turkey burgers and Dr. Praeger’s black bean vegan burgers. MOOYAH's non-GMO potato and multigrain buns are baked in-house daily, and Guests can choose from five real cheeses, bacon, avocado and 20 free sauces and toppings made from garden-fresh veggies. MOOYAH Guests can choose from seven flavors of 100% real ice cream shakes, including vanilla, Hershey’s chocolate, Reese’s, Oreo and more. While many Guests dine in-restaurant, MOOYAH also offers online ordering, delivery and carry out for Guests on the go as well as a loyalty app. In 2019, MOOYAH ranked on Fast Casual’s Movers and Shakers and on Franchise Dictionary’s Top 100 Game Changers. In 2018, MOOYAH was ranked among Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 200 Food and Restaurant Franchises of 2018 and landed at #7 in the Top 10 Fast Casual Restaurant Franchises by FranchiseRankings.com. In 2017, MOOYAH was named to Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious list of the smartest growing franchise brands, and was ranked #11 on Fast Casual Magazine’s annual Top 100 Movers & Shakers, a list the brand has been included on every year in the last ten years of rankings. For more information on MOOYAH, its menu or franchising opportunities, please visit www.MOOYAH. com. Connect with MOOYAH on Facebook.com/MOOYAH, follow MOOYAH on LinkedIn, Twitter @MOOYAHburgers and Instagram @MOOYAHburgers. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - unit expansion (topic) - brand growth (topic) - new york (location) - Franchise Times (publication) - MOOYAH (company) - FastCasual (publication) - Times Square (location) - franchising efforts (topic) - Burgerim (company) - Art Depole (person) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/mooyah-burgers-fries-and-shakes-to-open-times-square-flagship-location-with-major-exposure-to-new-yorkers-domestic-and-international-travelers-2713728). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b299c918-294b-4515-ac52-2bf3527cfbcd).