Craveworthy Brands is buying the 80-unit Mongolian Concepts—Genghis Grill, BD's Mongolian Grill and Flat Top Grill—in its third acquisition since launching in late 2022. Craveworthy's CEO Gregg Majewski, formerly CEO of Jimmy John's, served as CEO at Mongolian Concepts and spent time fine-tuning the brands.
"When I took over in 2021, that was always my intention to end up purchasing the business. We worked on that over the last two years, and finally bought it," Majewski said. "Genghis is the diamond in this deal," where he says customers enjoy customizing their stir-fry bowls and staffers cook fresh ingredients that don't sit in a steamer.
"There were a lot of issues with Genghis when we took over, but we worked through those," he added. Cook times were shortened from 12 minutes to under five. In 2018, square footage was 3,500 and buildout cost was $835,000. "Our new prototype that's under construction is 2,200 square feet, and will open up for under $400,000," he said.