Guzman y Gomez co-founder Steven Marks hopes his Aussie chain will one day be a hit with in Mexico.Credit:James Alcock
The fast food chain has some 140 stores across Australia,with plans to open more than 30 stores every year over the next 15 years - “almost all” of them in a drive-through format - to grow this figure to 600. The company is looking to hire 4200 people over the next six months to help drive its growth.
Once the domestic expansion is well underway,Mr Marks told theSydney Morning Herald and The Age the business would “make a huge investment in the US” and “one day” open stores in Mexico.
“We’ll take care of the US first,then move south,” the New York-born founder said,explaining he was “very tied to Mexico” even though he wasn’t of Mexican descent.
“The Mexicans that live in Australia love Guzman y Gomez,” he said. “There’s no reason not to bring it back to Mexico one day.”
Guzman y Gomez,Wollongong:CEO Steven Marks hopes to add 30 stores every year for the next 15 years.
While most of Guzman y Gomez’ stores are based in Australia,the casual dining chain also has 18 restaurants in Singapore and four in Tokyo. In the US,it so far runs one drive-through restaurant in Naperville,Illinois.
While dine-in restaurants,cafés and other hospitality venues have been battered by COVID-19 lockdowns,fast food outlets performed remarkably well. KFC Australia’s revenue ticked up 4.4 per cent to $433.7 million in the first half year of the 2022 financial year.