The Great Franchisee: Chuck Holbrook, MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, Abilene, TX

Chuck Holbrook has built a career in the restaurant industry, working mostly as a kitchen manager before becoming an operations manager with chicken franchise Raising Cane’s. Now, Holbrook is making the leap to restaurant ownership as one of the newest franchisees with Plano, TX-based MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, the 80-plus unit “better burger” concept that is quickly growing in markets across the country.

Holbrook is set to open his MOOYAH in mid-July at 3550 S. Clack Street.

Chuck Holbrook : I’ve been in Abilene since 2003 as I came here for school and attended Hardin-Simmons University. The restaurant business is a big part of my life as I started working in the industry at the age of 16 at Chick-fil-A. I also worked at a small restaurant in Brownwood, Texas. A majority of my career has been with Chili’s, where I served as a kitchen manager across multiple locations and helped open new locations. In 2017, I joined Raising Cane’s as an operations manager.

In addition to being in the restaurant business, I’ve had a career in commercial real estate and was also the general manager of Gold’s Gym in Abilene for three years.

Holbrook : Having been in the restaurant industry and even fitness space, franchising is something that I’ve always been able to wrap my head around. The model is in place to set business owners up for success by following the business model that is laid out.

It was just a matter of finding the right concept that I loved. From my past experience, I knew that I wanted a brand that had great business metrics while also having a fantastic product.

A lot of the research was done online. However, being in Texas, I knew MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes has a strong following in Texas. After going to Plano and trying the product, I knew it was the real deal and the right franchise to join.

Not only does the business model line up with what I was looking for, but so did the brand’s target audience. We have four high schools in Abilene along with three universities and a big medical community. I see us partnering with many of the schools in the area.

Abilene is a burger town; we have nice restaurants, but burger options are lacking. When you look at the demographic here, a brand like this will be set up for success. Abilene is my hometown, and I have a lot of family and friends here.

Since telling people about this new business venture, the response has been strong. People who know MOOYAH are thrilled we are joining the community. People who don’t know are already checking out the menu.

Having the corporate team up the road from us is also incredibly helpful knowing that they are at our disposal and we can sit down and have conversations with them.

I do have growth plans as I signed for three locations in Abilene, Lubbock and San Angelo. I hope to have Abilene open by the middle of July. Lubbock will hopefully open within the next year and San Angelo over the next couple years.