Restaurant chain Huey Magoo's continues to expand in Florida and the Southeast, opening its first drive-through location recently in Ocoee, Fla. The 2,000-square-foot location comes as it also opened locations in Sunrise and Loganville, Ga., in December.
Huey Magoo's, famous for its chicken tenders, is targeting at least 10 restaurants in 2020, CEO Andy Howard told Orlando Business Journal recently. "Our No. 1 priority is the state of Florida, targeting Jacksonville, Miami, the Panhandle, etc., and we’ll be filling in the Southeast including in Georgia, South Carolina and more."
Markets the restaurant is targeting during that timeframe include: Coral Springs; Valdosta, Ga.; McComb, Miss.; and Greater Tampa/The Villages. The company also is expected to announce franchisees in Gainesville and St. Petersburg/Clearwater, and is looking at additional locations in Orlando and Daytona Beach,
The locations, which each cost $500,000 to start, hire an average of 25 workers. The chain usually looks for spaces that have 1,800-2,000 square feet
Currently, Huey Magoo's has 13 locations, including in Lake Mary, Oviedo, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, ChampionsGate, Winter Springs and Daytona Beach, plus three sites in Orlando at the University of Central Florida, the Gardens On Millenia shopping center and the Dr. Phillips area. The chain also has its Loganville and the Sunrise locations.
Huey Magoo’s was started in 2004 by local residents Matt “Huey” Armstrong and Thad “Magoo” Hudgens, who sold the concept to the Huey Magoo’s entity for an undisclosed price in 2016, as previously reported by OBJ. Armstrong and Hudgens retained a portion of the company ownership and remain with the concept as franchisees.