Having Words With: Paul DamicoHaving Words With: Paul Damico

Moe’s Southwest Grill president Paul Damico has big plans for his Atlanta-based brand. The chain, a division of Focus Brands, which is owned by Roark Capital Group, is growing rapidly, opening a new store every five days.

That expansion brings with it a host of challenges, including hiring the right people and sourcing quality products.

But Damico isn’t fazed. Moe’s, he said, has franchisees lined up around the block for agreements — out of 2,700 inquiring franchisees, only 160 will get selected. And the brand recently opened up its 500th store, in New York.

While burritos still make up about 40 percent of the sales mix at Moe’s, Damico said there are plenty more product innovations coming down the pipeline, including those targeted toward the brand’s burgeoning catering business.

Damico spoke with Nation’s Restaurant News about why his brand is a powerful growth engine in the Mexican fast-casual segment.

To what do you attribute Moe’s rapid expansion?

The attraction to our brand. We’re seeing more groups interested in Moe’s than we have ever before. The fast-casual Mexican segment is one of the fastest-growing segments in the restaurant industry, and Moe’s is no exception.

Focus Brands is expanding a lot internationally. Does Moe’s have reach outside the U.S.?

Last year we signed a 50-store deal with a partner in Russia, so we sold out that country. We’ve got two restaurants open in Moscow. We also sold Costa Rica — that restaurant is up and open. There’s a lot of interest, because of our vegetarian menu, in India. Franchisees in the Middle East are showing interest, as well.

Due to the fast-paced growth, you’ve said hiring is a challenge for Moe’s at the corporate level. How do you tackle that challenge?

There’s a lot of attraction to our brand. People are constantly inquiring about opportunities. One of the tools we use regularly is LinkedIn. Our corporate LinkedIn is a very clean site. It [attracts] lots of people from the Georgia Restaurant Association.

Hiring at the store level is really not a challenge. Hiring at the corporate level is.

Tell us about how you plan to expand Moe’s catering business.

Our catering business right now is killing it. Our comps are up about 15.5 percent over last year. We’re spending a good amount of time and money on that. Right now it’s about 8 percent of our business. We’re hoping to get it to 20 percent. We’re growing it at a rate of 2 to 3 percent per year.

Catering is another differentiator for us because our competitive set doesn’t do it. Our food travels extremely well. Our program is such that we come to your office and set it up with everything you need. Whether that’s a taco bar for 500 people or a fajita bar for 15 people. It’s food everybody likes.

What are some of the other competitive differentiators for the Moe’s brand?

The first really is that even our kids’ meal program carries the same great attributes as our regular menu: cage-free chicken; all natural, organic ingredients. Those attributes are in all our kids’ meals, and that’s what really attracts the moms to our stores. It’s our chips and salsa, which are made fresh in our restaurants every day, and they’re free.

Everything is also completely customizable. We sell burritos, tacos, nachos, salads and stacks. We have over 20 ingredients to customize any one of those platforms to meet a customer’s taste.

Contact Erin Dostal at [email protected].
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