Mamoun’s Falafel, the 40-year-old fast-casual New York institution, announced the signing of a new multiunit franchise partner for New Jersey. This new partnership will add to Mamoun’s current portfolio of corporate and franchise restaurants in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The new franchisees, John LiDestri and Jerry Strumwasser, anticipate having three units open in New Jersey over the next three years. Regarding their choice to invest with Mamoun’s, LiDestri says, “I’ve loved Mamoun’s for years so I wanted to capitalize on what I knew would be a very small window to invest in some of the prime markets near their original location. The food quality and flavor really stand out when compared with other restaurants, while the overall ease of operations and high volumes out of small locations make it an attractive investment as a franchisee.”
Both LiDestri and Strumwasser have backgrounds in the foodservice and supply industry, John being a partner in National Food Trading Corp located in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Jerry with over 25 years of experience in the financial operations field, with specific focus on food service and franchise finance.
Mamoun’s Falafel is expanding nationally with an initial focus in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Mamoun’s recently hired director of operations Chris Ferrone, formerly head of operations for Bobby’s Burger Palace, as well as Grupo7 Architecture and Interiors for the restaurants’ interior designs, and Fransmart—the company behind the explosive growth of restaurants like Five Guys for franchise development. The franchise deal for New Jersey was signed through Fransmart CEO Dan Rowe and Fransmart director of development Allison Lisiecki.
