MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes franchisee eyes locations for Hendersonville, Gallatin
MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes Franchisee Jake Rightmyer said he is working to launch two locations in Sumner County, one in Hendersonville and the other in Gallatin.
A resident of Sumner County, Rightmyer has two decades of hospitality and restaurant experience and hopes to bring the counter-serve burger chain to his local community.
Between 30-35 new jobs are expected between the two stores, Rightmyer said.
“That's 35 families that we can help,” he said, adding that a corporation he and his wife set up will provide 401k opportunities to employees.
Store managers may be able to participate in revenue sharing as well.
“We really want this to be a family atmosphere, where people are proud to work there and are excited to watch it grow with us,” he said.
20 years of experience
Rightmyer grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and joined the service industry at 14, washing dishes by hand for a Chinese restaurant.
More than a decade of restaurant experience would follow including serving, bartending and cooking, helping him pay his way through college.
A few years later, his experience ultimately led him to managing Mahogany Prime, a fine dining restaurant in Oklahoma City. One of the restaurant’s investors took notice of him and brought Rightmyer into the world of senior living and housing.
Now, many years later, Rightmyer and his wife – who has many years of experience in the restaurant industry as well – began discussions about opening their own restaurant – though as a family of five, neither wanted the process of starting a restaurant from scratch to take away from the time they spend with their three boys.
So, franchising became the ‘golden ticket,’ they said. It was just a matter of finding the right one.
Better ingredients
Enter MOOYAH.
“(I’m excited about) the better ingredients that MOOYAH provides as far as the better burger options out there when it comes to fast, casual dining,” Rightmyer said.
The counter-serve burger chain makes custom burgers, including never frozen, certified Angus beef, poultry, veggie and vegan versions, nontraditional artisan bun options like lettuce wraps and gluten-free, hand-cut fries from Idaho potatoes, real ice cream shakes and more.
“To go into a fast, casual burger restaurant as a vegan is probably a little daunting, but to have options makes it incredible, especially for those families who maybe one person is a vegan and the other person may not be a vegan so, they can have the same experience together,” Rightmyer said.
Location, location, location
Anyone can tell you, ‘location is key’.
And with franchise locations planned for Hendersonville and Gallatin, Rightmyer hopes to wrap-up negotiations for the first store soon.
Set in Gallatin near the newer developments around Hwy 109, Rightmyer’s aiming to lock into areas projecting population and retail growth over the next couple of years.
Ideally, he would love to secure Hendersonville’s fast, casual dining location near the city’s highly anticipated members-only warehouse, Costco Wholesale, near TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center off New Shackle Island and Forest Retreat roads.
More: Hendersonville clears way for new Costco store plan
He believes the ever-growing Middle Tennessee population will be a driving force for the franchise’s success.
Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com or (615) 517-1285.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes franchisee scouting locations in Hendersonville, Gallatin
