Moe’s Southwest Grill Returns as Presenting Sponsor of the 2013 MLL All-Star Game

BOSTON, Mass. (Wednesday, March 20, 2013)– Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced today that Moe’s Southwest Grill, the restaurant franchise featuring fresh southwest fare, will return as the official presenting sponsor of the  MLL All-Star Game for a second consecutive year. The match will be held at the home of MLL’s Charlotte Hounds, American Legion Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, July 13, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on ESPN2.

“We are very pleased to have Moe’s Southwest Grill return as the 2013 MLL All-Star Game presenting sponsor,” said MLL Commissioner David Gross, “No other family restaurant has done more to foster the growth of the sport and the whole lacrosse community is very thankful for their support.”

“The players in this league lead a healthy lifestyle, work hard and have true passion and love for the game, mirroring the values of Moe’s and making this a natural partnership,” said President of Moe’s Southwest Grill Paul Damico.

The partnership will provide Moe’s with corporate visibility, including their logo being prominently displayed on team uniforms, field signage board and in-stadium banners as well as participating in the MLL Fan Zone.

This year, Moe’s Charlotte franchisee Bryan Connelly will be heavily involved in promoting the event, including in-store contests and hosting ancillary events to be announced at a later date.

“We’re thrilled to have the All-Star game in the backyard of our 13 Charlotte-area restaurants and invite fans to stop by beforehand to grab some dinner and enter our contests,” said Connelly. “At the game, we will provide an interactive experience that will showcase the great skill and sportsmanship of the athletes while everyone enjoys a good time.”

While Moe’s is best known for its made-to-order burritos packed with a choice of more than 20 fresh, flavorful ingredients, the menu also features kid’s, vegetarian and low-calorie options, all served with free chips and salsa. The fully customizable menu proudly boasts all-natural, cage-free, white breast meat chicken; steroid-free, grain-fed pulled pork; 100% sirloin, grass-fed steak; and organic tofu.

The MLL All-Star Game boasts the top lacrosse talent in the world and has become the league’s marquee event since its inception in 2001. It has been hosted in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Colorado, Massachusetts and Florida.

For more information about the 2013 MLL All-Star Game, please visit www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/all-star-game/.

About Moe’s Southwest Grill®
Welcome to Moe’s! Founded in 2000 in Atlanta, GA, Moe’s Southwest Grill is a fast-casual restaurant franchise featuring fresh, handmade, customizable southwestern food in a welcoming environment that rocks. Moe’s is committed to serving only the highest quality ingredients 100% of the time at our more than 490 locations in the U.S and abroad. While Moe’s is best known for its burritos packed with a choice of more than 20 fresh, flavorful ingredients, the menu also features kid’s, vegetarian and low-calorie options, all served with free chips and salsa. Check out Moe’s online at www.moes.com.

About Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded by Jake Steinfeld and is headquartered in Boston. Major League Lacrosse commenced play in June 2001 and will enter its thirteenth season in 2013. MLL has continued to lead the sport of lacrosse into the mainstream of competitive team sports. The league is made up of eight teams: The Boston Cannons, Charlotte Hounds, Chesapeake Bayhawks, Denver Outlaws, Hamilton Nationals, New York Lizards, Ohio Machine and Rochester Rattlers. More information about the league can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com, Facebook or  Twitter.

Paul Macaluso Promoted to Chief Marketing Officer of Moe’s Southwest Grill

ATLANTA – Moe’s Southwest Grill, the restaurant franchise featuring fresh southwest fare, has promoted Paul Macaluso to Chief Marketing Officer, a newly created role at the company. In addition to overseeing the brand marketing, field marketing and public relations functions, Macaluso’s responsibilities will expand to include catering and creative services.

“When he joined Moe’s a year and a half ago, Paul made an immediate impact by developing strong relationships with both the internal team and our franchise partners,” said president of Moe’s Paul Damico. “By leveraging his restaurant experience and consumer insights knowledge, he has strengthened our brand positioning, identified key growth drivers and developed his team, leading the brand to significant increases in our comp sales.”

Macaluso believes in strong collaboration with franchise partners and has worked closely with the franchise community, gaining full endorsement to purchase national media this year, a first for the brand.  Together they built a plan that will rapidly expand Moe’s national media presence over the next five years.

“Moe’s is a young, growing brand that has a lot of passion for its food, customers and its people; I’m really fortunate to be a part of this brand during a time when the team is working hard to reach milestones and break records,” said Macaluso.

Macaluso has more than 20 years of restaurant marketing experience, serving in a variety of Operations, HR and Marketing positions for Taco Bell Corp., then as Director of Product Marketing for Burger King Corporation, and prior to joining Moe’s as Vice President of Marketing, he served as Vice President of Daypart and Product Marketing for Sonic in Oklahoma City, OK.

CBS’s Hit Series “Undercover Boss” Takes Moe’s President Paul Damico through Journey inside Franchise Operations

New Episode of Emmy Award-Winning CBS Reality Series to be broadcast Friday, Jan. 18 

ATLANTA – Jan. 8, 2012 – Foodservice industry veteran and President of Moe’s Southwest Grill®, Paul Damico, will have his personal and professional journey spotlighted this week on the hit CBS series “Undercover Boss.” The show airs Friday, January 18 (8pm/7c) on the CBS Television Network.  

“It’s not every day you’re given the opportunity to take an inside look at your business without any filters. I wanted a chance to see why Moe’s is standing out in the marketplace and what we can improve on as a leader in the fast casual restaurant industry,” said Damico. “I walked away from this experience extraordinarily proud of our crew members and the operations team throughout our restaurant organization.”

Damico’s decision to participate in “Undercover Boss” comes as Moe’s, the fast-growing restaurant franchise best known for its flavorful southwest fare and fun and engaging brand culture, is experiencing tremendous growth and fine-tuning operations to ensure long-term success of the brand, which was established in 2000. Damico was named president of Moe’s Southwest Grill in 2008 after a long foodservice industry career with companies like SSP America, FoodBrand, LLC, and Host Marriott Service Corporation, all industry leaders in the restaurant business.

He and other Moe’s leaders will take what Damico learned and continue to build on the experience. Jobs Damico participated in during the show include food preparation with a shift supervisor, working the register with a general manager, going on sales calls with a catering director and rolling burritos with a line cook.

Each week, the Emmy Award-winning “Undercover Boss,” in its fourth season, follows a different executive as they leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companies. While working alongside their employees, they see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organizations and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad while discovering and rewarding the unsung heroes who make their companies run.

Moe’s is part of FOCUS Brands, a restaurant group with a robust international infrastructure that currently supports more than 1,000 locations in more than 60 countries and is poised to support significant international growth for Moe’s Southwest Grill.

Media can access photos from the episode at the following link: http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/undercover-boss/photos/?episode=1751

Mid-Atlantic Moe’s Southwest Grill Restaurants Helping with Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

10 Percent of Entire Day’s Proceeds Going to Local Food Banks on Thursday, Nov. 15

Atlanta – Nov. 13, 2012 – With a strong footprint in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Moe’s Southwest Grill® is giving back by aiding Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Many communities that Moe’s serves were hit hard by the storm, and numerous locations have banded together in order to make as much impact as possible. On Thursday, Nov. 15, more than 30 Moe’s restaurants in the region will be donating 10 percent of the entire day’s proceeds to local food banks.

“Moe’s is not an organization that sits back and watches others take care of things,” said Moe’s Field Marketing Manager Joe Salome, who is organizing the event. “We would be nowhere without our loyal customers and supportive local communities, so it is our duty to help them get through this rough time.”

Moe’s restaurants have already donated more than 4,000 burritos and tacos to those in need since the storm made landfall in late October. Participating locations for the fundraiser on Nov. 15 include:

• Connecticut: Glastonbury, Hartford, Milford, New Haven, Waterford
• New Jersey: Branchburg, Clifton, Depford, East Windsor, Edgewater, Hamilton, Mahwah, Marlboro, Mays Landing, Millville, North Brunswick,  Northvale, Paramus, Parsippany, Pompton Plains, Rutgers, Sicklerville, Sommerset
• New York: Long Island (East Meadow, Garden City, Greenvale, Oceanside, Rocky Point, Smithtown, Woodbury), Staten Island
• Pennsylvania: Bethlehem, Philadelphia (Chestnut Street and Suburban Train Station), Stroudsburg, Warrington, Wyomissing

The local food banks that will benefit include Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Island Harvest (Long Island), Food Bank of Delaware, and City Harvest (New York and Staten Island). With this initiative, Moe’s is estimating that between $6-7,000 will be donated in one day to help hungry families displaced by the hurricane or without power. For store addresses and hours, please visit www.moes.com.

Media Contact: John Everette, Fishman PR & Marketing, 847-945-1300 or jeverette@fishmanpr.com

Moe’s Southwest Grill Celebrates Cheese with Free Queso Day September 20

- Moe’s is offering its famous cheese dip on the house; no purchase necessary for one day only -

ATLANTA, GA (Sept. 12, 2012) – Free Queso Day is back by popular demand at Moe’s Southwest Grill® Restaurants on Thursday, September 20. The restaurant franchise featuring fresh, southwest fare is hosting the ultimate celebration of cheese by offering a free six ounce cup of its Famous Queso all day at participating locations, no purchase necessary.

It’s hard to resist the hot, flavorful, melted white cheese dip, one of the more popular sides in the Moe’s Southwest Grill line-up, which also includes guacamole, beans and rice.

“Free queso day celebrates cheese, but it’s also a way to thank our loyal customers,” said Paul Macaluso, vice president of marketing for Moe’s Southwest Grill. “Last year more than 250,000 guests enjoyed their free cup of queso; we’re confident that once you try Moe’s Famous Queso, you’ll be hooked.”

Moe’s is giving away cheese in its restaurants, but asking fans to share the cheese online, leading up to the ultimate celebration of cheese on Free Queso Day. Online Moe’s fans, at random, can win $10 Moe’s Southwest Grill gift cards or Free Queso by sharing their cheesy pictures, pick-up lines, stories, etc., and then tagging it with #sharethecheese.

 

Alongside Free Queso Day, Moe’s is also launching its first system-wide check-in program, allowing guests to check in at multiple locations and reap rewards. Go to www.moes.com/check-in to link foursquare® and/or Facebook® accounts, check-in like normal and then start to receive prizes! Members also have a shot at earning prizes via the Take The Queso to the Banko Sweepstakes. Members are awarded “chips” for various actions, including account activation, completing a member profile, checking in and inviting friends. One grand prize winner will receive a $500 Moe’s Southwest Grill gift card and five others will receive $100 Moe’s Southwest Grill gift cards.

Head to Moes.com to find a restaurant near you!