Moe’s Southwest Grill

After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Martin Sprock was only in his late 20’s when he started the popular smoothie chain, Planet Smoothie in 1995. After five successful years of the smoothie business and only 34 years old, he decided to start a Mexican version of Subway in the Atlanta area. Once dubbed a Serial Entrepreneur, Sprock seemed to have the magic touch. He grew the restaurant with his fresh ingredients and good food before selling the chain in 2007 to Focus Brands.

General Restaurant Information

Food Type: Mexican

Restaurant Type: Fast Casual

U.S. Locations: 680

States: 39 states, Moe’s Southwest Grill Locations

Company Slogan: Welcome to Moe’s

 

Contact Information

Website: moes.com

Questions: Contact Information

Phone number: 877-663-7411

Email: Contact Form Only

Blog: Moe’s Southwest Grill Blog

FAQ Page: Frequently Asked Questions

 

Ownership

Who Owns Moe’s Southwest Grill? Focus Brands – Roark Capital Group

Headquartered: Atlanta, GA

Contact Information: 

Website: Roark Capital

Email/contact page: Roark Capital Contact Page

Phone: (404) 591-5200 or (212) 806-6000

Address: 1180 Peachtree St NE, Suite 2500, Atlanta, GA 30309

Do They Franchise? Franchise Information

 

What Is It Like To Work At Moe’s Southwest Grill?

3.7/5 or 74%; 1,100 Reviews (indeed.com)

3.4/5, or 68%; 344 Reviews (glassdoor.com)

What to expect when working at Moe’s Southwest Grill (job-applications.com)

 

The History of Moe’s

Original Location: 349 14th St NW, Atlanta, GA

Founded: December 1, 2000

Founded By: Martin Sprock (founder of Raving Brands)

Founder Obituary: NA

Name Origin: Surprisingly, Moe himself doesn’t exist rather the name is an acronym for Musicians, Outlaws, and Entertainers. (source: mentalfloss.com)

History Page: Company History Page

Current View of Original Location: 349 14th St NW as it is today (link may not work on mobile devices without Google Maps)

Historical Articles: 

Moe’s Southwest Grill (wikipedia.org)

 

Social Awareness

Charity Focus: Various community projects

Green | Eco-Friendly: 

It’s Earth Day Every Day With Moe’s Southwest Grill’s Food Mission (marketwired.com)

On Track To Plant 10,000 Trees For Earth Day (chattanoogan.com)

Moe’s Southwest Grill Becomes Atlanta’s Third Certified Green Restaurant (moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com)

Awarded Prestigious LEED Silver Green Building Certification (usgbc.org)

Restaurant Begins Sustainability Journey with Opening of First Green Restaurant (hospitalitytech.com)

Animal Cruelty:

Focus Brands Animal Welfare Statement (focusbrands.com)

Moe’s Announces Chicken Changes (qsrmagazine.com) 

FOCUS Brands Inc. Commits to Sourcing Cage Free Eggs by 2026 (moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com)

Focus Brands Commits to Sourcing Cage-Free Eggs (ciwf.com)

 

Discounts At Moe’s Southwest Grill

Rewards Program: Reward Program (Rockin’ Rewards)

Do Kids Eat Free at Moe’s?

What day do kids eat free? Tuesday

Summary: Few restaurants offer ongoing weekly kids eat free special and even fewer seem to be consistent about it. We found at least three sources that all consistently stated that kids eat free on Tuesday, ages 12 and under with the purchase of an adult meal. 

Does Moe’s Offer Military Discounts?

Summary: Sadly, it certainly doesn’t appear that this is something they offer across their stores. We found no reports of a discount at all. 

What About My Birthday at Moe’s?

Summary: Currently on their site, if you join their Rockin-Rewards program you receive free burrito on your birthday each year and currently they are offering a free nachos with the purchase of any large drink just for signing up. By the way, you can download their mobile apps at the bottom of our Moe’s page.

From their site (June 2018) – 

Order ahead, save your faves and earn rewards with just a few taps. So download the app today and get  free nachos with the purchase of any regular or large drink just for signing up. And get a free burrito on your birthday every year. Just please don’t wear your birthday suit when trying to redeem.

Does Moe’s Offer First Responder Discounts?

Summary: No discounts offered

Does Moe’s Offer Senior Citizen | AARP Discounts?

Summary: No discounts offered

Are There Any Other Discounts or Benefits at Moe’s?

Summary: Rockin-Rewards program allows you to earn points for every dollar spent which then you get store credit for every 1,000 points earned. Check out all the details at the bottom of their Rockin-Rewards program page. 

 

Amenities

Order Online: Online Order

WiFi Available: Yes

Use Apple Pay: No  

Reservations: No 

Catering: Catering Menu  

Drive-Thru: No

Open 24 Hours: No  

 

Customer Reviews of Moe’s Southwest Grill

Yelp: 3.2/5 or 64%, 649 reviews sampled

Tripadvisor: 4.1/5 or 83%, 2,356 reviews sampled

Overall Average: 3.94/5 or 79%, 3,005 reviews sampled

Food & Nutrition

Menu:  Moe’s Southwest Grill Menu

Kids Menu:  Moe’s Southwest Grill Kids Menu

Secret Menu:  No resources found

Most Popular Menu Item:  No resources found

Coke or Pepsi Products: Coke

Serve Alcohol: Most locations do not

Nutritional Information: Nutrition Guide

Vegetarian | Vegan Options: 

145 Vegan Chain Restaurant Menus Every Vegan Needs to Know (urbantastebud.com)

Try These Vegan Fast Food and Chain Restaurant Options on the Go (peta.org)

Your Best Vegan Option at 35 Popular Restaurants (eatthis.com)

27 Fast Food Chains That Secretly Have Vegan-Friendly Options (refinery29.com)

Best Vegetarian Chain Restaurants: Midwest Fast-Food Edition (delishably.com)

Farm to Table | Organic Options | Clean | Non-GMO: If you look around on their website you will see references to “grass-fed”, “all-natural” and “organic” but nothing could be found that established their overall policy.

This Mental Floss article says –

In addition to the clever food names, the restaurant chain distinguishes itself from other fast casual restaurants with fresh and healthy ingredients. There are no microwaves, freezers, trans fats, or MSG at the restaurant chain. The chicken is cage-free and steroid-free, the pork is grain-fed, the steak is grass-fed, and the tofu is organic. There are also over 20 different gluten-free ingredientsand the grilled vegetables are prepared on a separate surface from the meat to accommodate vegetarians.

Miscellaneous Nutrition Resources: 

25 Restaurant Meals Under 500 Calories (#23)  (eatthis.com)

Healthy Dining (healthydiningfinder.com)

Food Babe Investigates: Chipotle vs. Moe’s (foodbabe.com)

My Food Diary (myfooddiary.com)

The Healthiest Things to Eat at Taco Bell, Chipotle, and Moe’s Southwest Grill (thedailymeal.com)

The #1 Worst Menu Option at 41 Popular Restaurants (#23) (eatthis.com)

Allergy Information

Allergen Information: Moe’s does not provide this to their customers

Gluten Free Options: 

Gluten Free Options at Moes (moes.com)

Gluten-Free at Moe’s Southwest Grill (findmeglutenfree.com)

Their site states “Our menu features more than 20 gluten-friendly ingredients.”

Dairy Free Options:

Dairy Free Options at Moe’s (moes.com)

Moe’s Southwest Grill Dairy Free Options (godairyfree.org)

Peanut Free Options: 

Peanut Free Options (moes.com)

Food Allergy Guides For Many Chain Restaurants (verywellhealth.com)

Ways to Eliminate Risks of Peanut Allergy When Dining Out (healthguidance.org)

 

Does Moe’s Southwest Grill Have Any Secret Recipes?

Secret Recipes:  

Homewrecker Burrito (bakinbitsblog.com)

Steak Taco Salad (foodnetwork.com)

Pico De Gallo (genuiskitchen.com)

Queso Dip (healthyjunkfood.com)

 

Did You Know?

Fun Facts: 

Focus Brands purchased the restaurant chain in 2007 and is the current owner but they also own Cinnabon, Schlotzsky’s, Carvel, Auntie Anne’s and McAlister’s

If you like their chips and salsa, you’ll be glad to know that they won’t stop you from having as much as you like. They offer this benefit with all meals there. 

And that salsa, well it is prepared in the store fresh daily and so is the guacamole

Their menu is a pop-culture reference board with food names from Seinfeld, Fight Club, The Unusual Suspects, Fletch, Caddyshack, The Hangover and so many more. (wikipedia.com)

The founders were big Grateful Dead fans (delish.com)

The creator of Raving Brands was Martin Sprock, a UNC graduate. Sprock saw the rising popularity of Orange Julius (which btw opened in the 1920’s) and created Planet Smoothie in 1995. (fundinguniverse.com)

When Sprock opened the first store in 2000 he called the store a “Mexican Subway” (fundinguniverse.com)

Interesting Articles:

12 Things You Don’t Know About Moe’s Southwest Grill (delish.com)

 Five Fun Facts About Moe’s Southwest Grill (grub.gunaxin.com)

9 Things You Might Not Know About Moe’s Southwest Grill (mentalfloss.com)

Top 8 Hacks (theodysseyonline.com)

Moe’s Southwest Grill hits the road (nrn.com)

5 Reasons Why It’s My Family’s Jam! (southernmadesimple.com)

I tried Chipotle and its biggest Mexican-food competitor to decide which was better — and the winner is clear (businessinsider.com)

More Popular Than Chipotle, But Is It Actually Better? (elitedaily.com)

10 Reasons Why They Will Always Be Superior To Chipotle (theodysseyonline.com)

 

Social Media

 

Followers (as of July 2018) –  

Facebook: 646,000

Twitter: 90,100

Instagram: 45,400

Mobile Apps

No mobile apps offered

Alternatives

Better Options: Coming Soon

Similar Restaurants: 

Chuy’s

Freebirds World Burrito

 

In Summary

“Welcome to Moes” is what you’ll most likely hear when you walk in their restaurant. They try to make it as friendly and laid back as possible. If you haven’t ever been, a Mexcian version of Subway is certainly a good way to think about it and the food choices are probably healthier than Subway. 

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