On the heels of the company’s recent MenuMasters Award, Mama Fu’s Asian House is continuing to make big strides and has recently signed its largest franchise agreement to date, bringing the brand to the Houston market.
The agreement calls for 18 Mama Fu’s restaurant locations to open in Houston, marking the company’s growth into its largest metro area to date, and adding to many other territories in Texas being developed such as San Antonio, El Paso, West Texas, Central Texas, and the corporate market of Austin.
The newly signed deal is part of a nationwide development plan for the brand to open eight to 10 new stores in the next 12 months, and increases the number of Mama Fu’s restaurants in various stages of development to 49.
“We’re extremely excited about signing this 18-unit agreement in such a significant market like Houston,” says Randy Murphy, president and CEO of Mama Fu’s. “We couldn’t be happier that franchising veteran Steve Chappelear is leading our development there. Steve is well-versed in the franchise restaurant industry, and we’re confident that his experience will lead to great success in the market.”
Steve Chappelear, of Schapp’s MF Holdings, LLC, is a franchise operator and executive with more than 15 years of experience operating eight Buffalo Wild Wings franchise units in Houston. Chappelear has the longest operating tenure for Buffalo Wild Wing’s franchises in Texas and played an instrumental role in that brand’s development in Houston and regionally.
“I’ve been in the franchising industry for quite some time, and I knew I wanted to bring a new brand to Houston,” Chappelear says. “I was really impressed with the Mama Fu’s leadership and the personal attention they gave to franchisees. I have no doubt that this brand will be successful both in Houston and nationwide.”
Mama Fu’s recently evolved its concept by introducing a new, smaller prototype that reduces building costs by more than 10 percent. This improvement came on the heels of a complete brand overhaul that included a 20 percent start-up cost reduction, implementation of a delivery service, and a Flex-Casual in-store service model that features counter ordering during lunch and full service at dinner.
