Mac & Cheese Franchise Hungry for Expansion Makes Push for More Stores

A macaroni-and-cheese fast-casual chain wants to take a bigger bite out of the Big Apple and other markets around the country with aggressive franchising.

I Heart Mac & Cheese, which was founded in 2016 to serve up macaroni and cheese bowls, recently sold two of its corporate-owned stores in New York City to a franchisee. The one in Bayside in Queens is scheduled to open this month. Its Patchogue location opened earlier this year on Long Island. According to the company, the franchisee has a deal to take the brand to all five New York City boroughs. Financial terms of the deal and the franchisee were not disclosed.

Stephen Giordanella, I Heart Mac & Cheese’s chief executive and chairman, said in a statement that the sales to the franchisee “signifies the evolution of our brand and is a major step toward our long-term expansion goals.”

At roughly 1,500 square feet per store, Florida-based I Heart Mac & Cheese adds another fast-casual option for retail center owners. The chain targets shopping malls, sports venues and areas near colleges and universities.

It joins a bunch of fast-casual concepts trying to expand and carve out a niche. Greg Eisenman, senior director for retail tenant services with Franklin Street Property Services, said consumers are the winners ultimately because of the number of choices.

“More competition should cause the cream to rise to the top,” Eisenman said. “Good landlords will really need to do their due diligence, however, as they evaluate whether their prospective tenants will be able to make it. If they want to avoid having to deal with replacing their failed fast-casual restaurants, they’ll need to pay attention to concept as much as financials, and how it will function operationally in their center.”

Sitting at about 14 locations now, mostly in its home state, the chain just edged into Entrepreneur magazine’s annual ranking of the top 100 new franchises, coming in at No. 100. The rankings are based on more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.

I Heart Mac & Cheese started franchising a couple of years ago and opened its first franchise last April in Yukon, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, but it closed after less than a year in business. It was supposed to be the first of four locations in the state.

Company executives haven’t said why that store closed or the status of the franchisee. Still, that apparently hasn’t deterred the aggressive growth plans that have I Heart Mac & Cheese steadily striking development deals for more locations. It has deals for expansion in Texas, Georgia, New York and Florida.

One of the key selling points the company makes is that locations don’t need grease traps, fryers or hood systems. That means a lower cost to build out a location. The company lists total investment for a location at between $207,500 and $337,000.

Earlier this month, I Heart Mac & Cheese announced a deal with Fidelity Enterprises for four locations in Texas. Thomas Doyel, Megan Doyel, Jerry Livingston and Laura Livingston make up the Fidelity ownership. Thomas Doyel was previously involved with restaurant chains Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and Chipotle.

They plan to open the first of two locations in August in College Station, Texas, home to Texas A&M University. Waco, Texas, is up next, which is where Baylor University is located, as well as Texas Tech University’s home town of Lubbock, Texas. In all, Fidelity could add another 20 locations around the Lone Star State.

In March, I Heart Mac & Cheese signed a deal with franchise group Manor 3 to put 23 locations on Long Island, nine of which are slated to open over the next three years.

Giordanella called that deal “monumental” because while no restaurant experience is necessary to open a franchise, the company attracted an experienced restaurant operator with local ties. Vinny Greco, one of the two partners of Manor 3, had been an assistant equipment manager for the New York Mets before owning and operating two Hurricane Grill and Wings franchises on Long Island for the past decade.