Dallas-Fort Worth residents can look forward to more opportunities to enjoy MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes in the next few years. The “better burger” concept offering made-to-order burgers, French fries hand cut from Idaho potatoes, and real ice cream shakes, has signed a deal with Agape Management to bring 10 new locations to the franchise brand’s home market of Dallas. Additionally, Agape Management is taking over ownership and remodeling two existing area locations to feature the brand’s new prototype with new dining zones, digital menus, a grab-and-go bottled beverage fridge and to-go shelving.

Longtime friends and seasoned food and beverage executives Sean McCullough, Greg Stevens and Ted Beaman formed Agape Management to implement their management philosophy of “Lead With Love” in promising growth brands and select turnaround opportunities within the restaurant and entertainment sectors.  The team was aware of MOOYAH’S innovation and development efforts led by company president Tony Darden and believed that the MOOYAH mission aligned perfectly with Agape’s objectives.

“Because of our shared values and history, we wanted to become MOOYAH franchise owners together,” says Stevens. “We’re always looking for brands and businesses where we can use our expertise, and MOOYAH was an easy fit for us because we knew the leadership team. We knew the product and the commitment to its Guests and Team Members, and that aligned really well with our values. We saw an opportunity to build on the brand’s Dallas-Fort Worth footprint and take growth in the area to the next level.”

The group is looking forward to bringing MOOYAH’s delicious offerings to the community, but that’s not all. Agape plans to partner with the local community by creating 250 new jobs and being involved in local events that raise funds for community initiatives like local PTA and soccer clubs, according to McCullough.

“We know MOOYAH as Guests, we love it from that perspective, and we want to be engaged in our communities as great representatives for the brand,” adds Beaman. “And since the company brought in new ownership a few years ago, MOOYAH has done a lot to benefit the Franchise Owners — including improving the quality of the product and enhancing the Franchise Owner experience. We see MOOYAH as a very high-quality brand that hasn’t gotten enough attention yet, and now is an opportune time to get in on the action. The leadership team has always been focused on improving the Guest experience, and even more so now during the pandemic. We want to be able to partner with them on that.”

Darden says that he is eager to see the potential of MOOYAH and Agape’s partnership come to fruition as their new locations begin to open, and he’s confident that the group’s passion for the brand will drive future success.

“MOOYAH is beyond excited to partner with Agape Management on this expansion across our home market and to show off the brand’s new vision to the Dallas-Fort Worth area with the addition of two remodeled stores,” says Darden. “They loved their experience with the brand as friends and Guests and are now ready to bring it to more communities as Franchise Owners by providing our affordable and tasty food to Guests across the metroplex.”

Agape will be remodeling two DFW locations that will showcase new dining zones and seating arrangements, purposeful third-party and to-go shelving, a closed kitchen, digital menu boards, and a new logo. Agape has plans to open the first of its 10 new locations within the first quarter of 2021 and hopes to see the second location open by Q2.

“We’re planning to open two new stores in the Mid-Cities,” says Beaman. “In terms of where we’re looking exactly, we want to take a broad view of the market — anywhere from Dallas to Fort Worth to Denton.”

At MOOYAH, Guests have the advantage of choosing from a variety of bun options, such as baked-in-house artisan potato or multigrain wheat non-GMO buns and hand-crafted lettuce buns called Iceburgers to accompany the never-frozen, 100 percent Certified Angus Beef® brand burgers, all natural Jennie-O turkey and Dr. Praeger’s black bean vegan burgers. Each gourmet burger can be customized with six cheeses, Applewood smoked bacon and sliced avocado, along with ten free veggie toppings and ten free sauces.

MOOYAH’s hand-cut fries come together in a six-step process that takes a total of 24 hours to completely prepare. A delightful combination of constant attention and a little magic help transform U.S. #1 Idaho potatoes into perfect, crisp-on-the-outside and fluffy-on-the-inside fries. Guests also have the choice of savory sweet potato fries. Never one to forget dessert, MOOYAH offers 100 percent real ice cream shakes, allowing Guests to choose from 7 flavors ranging from vanilla and Hershey’s chocolate to Reese’s, Oreo and more.