'Better Burger' Chain MOOYAH Launches First Westchester Location

There’s a new burger joint in town, and it’s looking to keep growing in the area.

MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a name that hits on all the burger keywords, opened its first Westchester location in Briarcliff Manor in November. The location is the first in the state for the chain, which has more than 80 locations worldwide, with the most located in its home state of Texas.

It’s a ‘better burger‘ chain in the same vein as Five Guys and Shake Shack. In fact, some of the decor in the restaurant is similar that of Five Guys, including the stacked bags of potatoes along the walls.

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MOOYAH’s interior goes for a more kid-friendly vibe, however, with a large public chalkboard and cartoon cows wearing sunglasses hanging on the walls. MOOYAH’s menu doesn’t offer any specialty burgers like Shake Shack or Elevation Burger. Instead, burgers are fully customizable from a hefty menu of options that includes applewood smoked bacon, sliced avocado, five types of cheeses, nine veggies, and 11 sauces. 

The patties are 100 percent beef and never frozen, but if that’s not your thing, there’s also an all-natural turkey patty or black bean veggie patty. If you’re trying to cut back on carbs or going gluten-free, there’s the MOOYAH Iceburger, where lettuce takes the place of the bun. And, as the name suggests, there’s a menu of 10 different ice cream shakes.

The double burger with cheddar, applewood smoked bacon, and lettuce.  

The bread for the burgers is baked fresh in-house, which franchisee Anthony Grippo said gives Mooyah an edge over other burger competitors.

“Most places just take it out of a bag,” he said. “Here, you know it’s all fresh and baked in store.”

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A turkey burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and sweet potato fries.

Grippo worked in the finance industry for 17 years before deciding to strike out on his own and go into the restaurant business two years ago. He knew he wanted to go the ‘better burger’ route, but had to research which chain to buy into. He said he saw MOOYAH as an up-and-coming brand, so drove up to Hartford, Connecticut (the closest location at the time) to give the food a try.

“I loved the food, loved the set-up,” he said. “I decided right then to go for it.”

The chain’s first Westchester location, in the Chilmark Shopping Center, basically straddles the border of Briarcliff Manor and Ossining, which means MOOYAH won’t necessarily have to compete with Five Guys and the more established ‘better burger’ chains already in the county, just yet. 

“I love the Central Avenue location in Scarsdale, but you have Smashburger, Jake’s Wayback Burgers, Bareburger, and Five Guys’,” he said. “Here you are on the border of two great communities with no other burger place around.”

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Grippo will take MOOYAH into Larchmont next. He expects to open a location there in March. Grippo said he is contracted to open six locations over the next six years, but added he’s not certain whether those will all be in Westchester, as some might open in Fairfield. 

MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes
1876 Pleasantville Road
Briarcliff Manor
(914) 236-3647
www.mooyah.com/locations/id/225/

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