Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2016 | Page 26

2016 MVP AWARDS
BY HELEN BOND

Free Queso!

How a penchant for innovation turned into a national promotion

W

hen a competitor set up
shop too close to Michael
Geiger’s Moe’s Southwest
Grill, he and his partner
John Iaquinta fired back with a volley of
cheese dip.
“We started planning ways to disrupt
grand openings for competitors that select
real estate close to our existing locations,”
Geiger recalls. “One of the more successful tactics involved giving away our world
famous queso on the day of a competitor’s
big day. It is a great differentiator of ours
and we wanted to highlight it. After we did
it a few times and saw net revenue more
than double on those days (as well as seeing
empty parking lots for our competitors’

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NAME: Michael Geiger
TITLE: President, Big Plan Group
NO. OF UNITS: Moe’s Southwest

Grill, 7
AGE: 40
FAMILY: Wife Kristy; sons Jackson,

7 and Cole, 4
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 11
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 11

openings), the brand took note and made
it a nationa