Barbecue favorite Mighty Quinn’s is expanding its NYC footprint with two new locations inside Madison Square Garden. The first of the two opened in January, and the second is set to open by the end of this month. Both locations are counter-service spots and will be the only ones in NYC serving the chain’s signature black cherry barbecue ribs sandwich. The two new locations mark the 10th and 11th locations for the chain, which first got started as a stall at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg.
Success in Williamsburg propelled pit master and co-founder Hugh Mangum to open his first full-service restaurant in the East Village at the end of 2012. The chain has since become one of the best barbecue destinations in the city. Mighty Quinn’s also has locations in Westchester, New Jersey, and Dubai. The founders of Mighty Quinn’s, a fast casual barbeque chain, are more than just partners. They’re bros— literally. Celebrity chef Hugh Mangum and financing veteran Micha Magid are stepbrothers, and their third partner, Christos Gourmos, is Magid’s brother-in-law.
“We’ve created a simple operations model that centers around a slow-cooked, fast-served experience for our guests and gives operators a scalable model,” Magid said about the brand that is now preparing to expand via franchising. “As fast casual continues to grow as a trend nationwide, our mission is to replicate our highly-acclaimed, crave-worthy barbeque that can be enjoyed either sitting down or on the go on a national scale, without cutting corners during the process.”
The brothers believe that their chef-backed product, engineered buildout and unit-level economics will impress possible investors. They aren’t the only ones, however.
In March of 2013, New York Times food critic Pete Wells sat down at a table with a tray filled with food to see what the hype was all about. Shortly after, the paper awarded Mighty Quinn’s a 2-star rating, and it landed on New York’s “10 Best Restaurants in 2013” list.
“That was a big moment for us,” Mangum said. “We were meticulous about our product, design and operations. We wanted to create something bigger than just another barbeque place. The New York Times helped validate our hard work.”
The restaurant, which can operate out of a 3,000-square-foot flagship restaurant that can act as a central kitchen for up to three additional restaurants, is a great opportunity for multi-unit operators to get into the brand and grow quickly in a market. The equipment package from the beginning has been created in collaboration with New Jersey’s Economy Restaurant Supply.
And that goes for international brands, too. In 2016, for example, three international operators from countries traveled to New York City to seek out the food for themselves. Shortly after, the Mighty Quinn’s leadership team worked with each one to develop the menu and operations to fit each market’s needs. Now, the brand has five international locations in Taiwan, The Philippines and Dubai.
“Since our founding, we have trained three separate teams and executed three franchise agreements overseas,” said Gourmos. “To ensure success through the Mighty Quinn’s operating model, we are dedicated as a leadership team to work with franchisees until they are able to replicate the model that we’ve found success within New York City.”
With initial investments for satellite and flagship locations ranging from $581,750 to $1,113,750 and reported average unit-level economics as $2,246,412 to $3,273,192, Mighty Quinn’s is targeting entrepreneurial-minded, process-focused operators to expand the brand in key markets across the U.S., in key markets like Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New Jersey. In the next five years, Mighty Quinn’s plans to open 60 stores throughout the country.
“Our franchise offering is strategically designed to provide the opportunity for quick success and expansion through the lens of multi-unit growth,” said Magid. “This scalable approach, paired with the unbeatable taste and convenience that has made our corporate stores so successful, creates an amazing opportunity in the barbeque segment. We can’t wait to build on the success we have seen in New York City and introduce everyone to their new favorite Urban BBQ joint.”
