MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, the nearly 100-unit “better burger” franchise, continues to build out its leadership team to empower its impressive growth trajectory. The most recent addition is Beth Stockmoe, who served as the brand’s Senior Director of Operations for four years before being promoted to Vice President of Operations.
Stockmoe brings over two decades of restaurant experience to the brand and now says she’s excited to support the network as it expands. She first found her way to MOOYAH through a professional connection, and it just made sense.
“I had never thought about working at MOOYAH before; I honestly thought I’d end up retiring from Zoe’s at the time,” she explains. “But MOOYAH was my kid’s favorite restaurant. Every time we would go to the pool during the summer, he wanted to go to MOOYAH right afterward. We already loved the brand, so the thought of coming to work for MOOYAH and being a hero to my kid… that was really enticing.”
After meeting the MOO Crew, Stockmoe says she was overwhelmed by the passion everyone on the team held for the brand. It was an opportunity she could not turn down.
Now, she is working diligently to navigate challenges within the industry.
“Right now, times are tough with inflation,” Stockmoe explains. “We’ve got an intense focus on the economic model, but we are also so proud of our food quality and ingredients. We’re working to improve our prime costs without negatively impacting our quality. Passing price hikes along to the Guests just isn’t an option.”
This strategy is coming to life in many forms, but some of the most notable are Stockmoe’s efforts to better monitor food waste and packaging. Improving the labor model and efficiencies within the kitchen will naturally impact food waste. She plans to empower Franchise Owners with a new backhouse office system that will more accurately report inventories, allowing owners to see exactly where inventory is falling short. With this information, they can coach their teams to better prevent waste and address these challenges at the restaurant level.
Another substantial source of cost is packaging materials. As she works around this issue, Stockmoe is thinking of new packaging solutions that will both decrease cost, improve the quality of the food and continue to promote the MOOYAH name.
A “day in the life” for Stockmoe looks different each day, but she says she likes to start the day with a long run to clear her head and sort out priorities. From there, she analyzes daily to-dos and evaluates progress on longer-term goals, like those set for the month or quarter. As she checks in with her team, Stockmoe strategizes for the economic model, food safety, education, development and more.
“It’s just people and food. Those are my two favorite things because they’re complicated and simple at the same time,” she says. “But that’s my philosophy at work. We’ve got the best food, but it’s the people that really impact every single one of your results. Having a solid set of core values and expectations that you can work off of helps the two come together seamlessly.”
