MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes opened on February 1 to satisfy the elevated taste buds of Manhattanites and tourists alike across New York City. The city’s first MOOYAH will open for delivery and pick-up at 485 7th Ave, New York, NY. The Manhattan opening marks the first MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes restaurant for Nick and Art Depole. The twin brothers grew up in Los Angeles and were big fans of the fast-casual, mouthwatering made-to-order burger restaurant. After reaching out to the leadership team to explore potential investment opportunities, the Depoles fell in love with the brand’s high-quality menu options and Franchise Owner support, deciding they wanted to spearhead development for one of their favorite restaurants in the Big Apple.
“We always loved MOOYAH’s food, and once we were introduced to their business model and leadership team, we were blown away by the opportunity,” says Nick Depole.
After graduating from the University of Southern California, Art started a successful sneaker resale company in the early-2000s, gathering in-depth business experience and acumen. When the brothers decided to transition out of the retail industry and diversify their portfolio, they completed due diligence on a variety of brands such as BurgerIM before deciding MOOYAH Burger, Fries and Shakes was the best fit to bring to the city that never sleeps.
“The visibility of the location is truly unbeatable and will create an amazing opportunity to introduce our delicious menu, industry-leading loyalty rewards app offerings and refreshed restaurant design to an unprecedented number of guests and franchise prospects,” adds MOOYAH President Tony Darden.
Now, the Depoles are excited to open a MOOYAH location near New York’s iconic Times Square. The restaurant will feature a streamlined layout to promote delivery and take out, extended hours to appeal to the late night crowd and a beer and liquor license. Nick and Art are confident that the MOOYAH concept will fit perfectly with New York’s fast-paced crowd and the two looking forward to opening the dining room when the pandemic restrictions lift. The Depoles also hope to open more locations in the city over the coming years.
“The way I see it, NYC is the hub of everything that goes on in the United States,” says Art Depole. “Most companies look to have a presence in the city and there is no reason MOOYAH can’t join the other successful concepts in the city. We feel like New York will be a great fit and MOOYAH’s food will definitely excel there.”
Last February, MOOYAH opened its first restaurant featuring the new prototype that showcases new dining zones and seating arrangements, purposeful third-party and to-go shelving, a closed kitchen, digital menu boards, and a new logo. The Times Square restaurant is one of the first 10 locations nationally that has been designed to feature the updated look.
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.