TMAD CEO, Michael Haith, was featured in the Denver Business Journal talking about our massive growth! The article covers our expansion to Hawaii, Mexico and signed Asian food franchise deals that represent as many as 150 future locations! Read the full article below or visit Denver Business Journal (must have a DBJ subscription to read the full article).

Teriyaki Madness Signs Deals that Could Triple the Size of the Chain

Teriyaki Madness, the Denver-based fast-casual Asian food franchise, has put franchise agreements into place this year that would allow it to triple its total footprint — and it even plans to open new stores in its long-neglected hometown.

Since the start of 2018, the 45-store restaurant has signed deals that will expand it internationally into Mexico, grow it significantly in Hawaii and increase its presence in target markets such as Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami. The agreements represent as many as 150 future locations, some of which will be opening as soon as next year, CEO Michael Haith said.

The surge of interest coincides with the shift in consumer trends to wanting healthier foods and to seeking menus that allow more customization, even in quick-service restaurants, said Haith, who purchased the company three years ago. Many of the new agreements, including the deal to expand into Mexico, came from businesspeople who sought out the chain, he said.

“It’s really about where the puck is going to be,” Haith said in an interview. “We just check off so many boxes for consumers.” Opened in 2003, Teriyaki Madness moved its headquarters to Denver in 2014, joining a host of other fast-casual restaurants — from Noodles & Co. to Smashburger to Tokyo Joe’s — that call the metro area home. But unlike those chains, its presence here is very muted, with just one location open in Greenwood Village.

Haith said he plans to open one or two company-operated restaurants in the Denver next year in order to understand the business model even further and get a closer-up view of customer reaction to the asian food franchises offerings. But the big push for growth will remain in other areas.

In May, for example, the company inked a franchise deal with Star San Luis, which currently franchises Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Mexico, to open as many as 100 locations in America’s neighbor to the south over the next 10 years. The first one is set to open in the city of San Luis Potosi in 2019, and Haith said there are several advantages to growing internationally with a franchisee who knows that market.

“They convinced us the business model would work in Mexico,” he said. “Between the reduced cost of labor and the reduced cost of food and us being able to maintain the quality, we don’t see a downside.”

Haith also signed a deal in October for a franchisee to open Teriyaki Madness locations throughout the state of Hawaii, where Asian food is particularly popular. And over the past 11 months, the company nailed down franchise deals to open multiple locations over the next five years in the Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami areas.

All this comes as the chain, which was ranked 37th on Fast Casual magazine’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers list in May, is in the early stages of rolling out its new app that makes digital ordering much easier. Haith noted that between pick-up orders and contracts with third-party delivery companies, between 70 and 80 percent of orders are consumed now outside of the restaurants — up from 50 percent just three years ago.

Moving forward, he said the company will continue to look for new markets, although it’s not searching actively for international opportunities. The move toward off-premises consumption also will allow franchisees and corporate officials to look for smaller or less high-profile locations for the stores, he said.

*Article taken directly from Denver Business Journal