Mezza Lebanese Kitchen Ready To Launch First Drive-Thru Restaurant In N.B.
MONCTON – Mezza Lebanese Kitchen’s first foray into New Brunswick will include a drive-thru that will make the “fast-casual” restaurant even more convenient for its new customers.
Peter Nahas, the Business Development and Franchising VP for Mezza, says the location for the purpose-built 2,000-square-foot franchise in central Moncton was carefully chosen.
It will be located at the corner of Morton Avenue and McLaughlin Road, close to Université de Moncton. With lots of drive-by traffic, Nahas said the new drive-thru has the same ingredients for success as the Mezza locations in Nova Scotia.
“It’s a great location. We made our decision on market research – we have a great real estate team we work with, that helps us fit all our needs,” said Nahas.
“It certainly fits the mold, to find where our customers are and where we want to be to serve them.”
Ashley Chandler, the operating partner and developer for the new Mezza franchise, says there’s been a lot of local anticipation about the new Moncton franchise.
“If you mention the word Mezza, you can feel the hype. People know it and are waiting for it to come to Moncton,” said Chandler in a recent phone interview with Huddle.
“I was talking to a Costco employee in Moncton the other day, and she and her husband drive by weekly to see if it’s open,” she added.
Chandler is with East Coast Hospitality Group Inc., which will bring five Mezza franchises to the Greater Moncton area and P.E.I. The group includes Chandler’s husband Greg, her brother Adam Doiron and his wife, tourism consultant Marsha Doiron.
In a call with Huddle, Adam says he is excited to be part of the team bringing the Lebanese restaurant chain to Moncton.
“We believe it’s great food, a good concept and a great franchise system, and we’re excited to bring it to Moncton,” he said.
Ultimately, the Halifax-based chain aims to have 24 kitchens cooking across the Maritimes, and is carrying out a $7-million 12-franchise expansion that includes three Greater Moncton franchises, another for Fredericton and two planned for P.E.I.
Nahas says Mezza is also looking for a franchisee in Saint John.
“We’re looking to finalize a location and franchise with the right operator in Saint John, the big remaining market in New Brunswick,” he said.
Slated for a late October or November opening, the owners of the first Moncton plan to hire 25 people – part of a larger plan to hire 300 in the Maritimes.
Nationally, Mezza has plans to open more than 50 new restaurants in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, as well.
Nahas said the company’s plans for a 12 to 18-month expansion are “making up for lost time,” after they were slowed down by the pandemic in 2020. The first Moncton location was originally supposed to open last year.
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“Everything got delayed. The biggest impact was the border shutdown and all the restrictions. Crossing borders became a process of watching the news to figure out what we could do,” said Nahas, noting Mezza had all the leases for its new franchises signed before the pandemic hit.
Those closures interrupted supply chains and made things difficult for contractors building the new Moncton location.
“We’re excited to open the next location in Moncton – something that was supposed to happen a year-and-a-half ago,” he added.
During the pandemic, Nahas said many existing franchises played to their strengths as fast-casual restaurants, situated, in many cases, in suburban areas with high takeout traffic.
The pandemic has also helped Mezza prioritize, with its owners rethinking how much of a footprint is needed for each franchise of a restaurant chain that began as a Halifax food stall at the Halifax Shopping Centre in 1990.
As operating partner, Chandler will be responsible for the boots-on-the-ground work to get the Moncton location running, drawing on experience as a multi-unit manager in the fast-casual dining atmosphere of the P.E.I. Tim Hortons locations, which are owned by the D.P. Murphy Group of Companies.
Chandler credits Mezza’s healthier options – such as vegan and gluten-free dishes – and strong reputation for catering as integral to the chain’s growing popularity.
“There definitely is a growing demand for that,” he said.
Nahas said similarly, noting that in Mezza’s near-three-decade run, he’s seen a growing hunger in the Maritimes for Lebanese food.
“You see 12 types of hummus and pita bread stocked on every shelf at grocery stores and retail versions of tabbouleh and these kinds of food have become household names,” he said.
“That, frankly speaking, wasn’t the case 10 or 15 years ago. We’re proud to share our culture and food with the Maritimes and can’t wait to do that across Canada – quite frankly, there’s no better feeling.”
Sam Macdonald is Huddle’s new Monton correspondent. E-mail him story ideas and feedback:
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