Moe’s Southwest Grill franchise complaints include alleged undisclosed kickbacks, numerous franchisee lawsuits, and franchisee harrassment.
Focus Brands, Inc., based in Atlanta, is the franchisor of over 3,800 locations under the brand names Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, Moe’s, and Schlotzsky’s.
According to its website, Focus Brands seeks “franchise partners to share in our pursuit of happiness” because its “franchise partners are integral to the success of FOCUS Brands.”
However, according to at least one Moe’s franchisee, the story is quite a bit different.
Taylor Investment Partners II, LLC operates not one but two Moe’s restaurants in Atlanta. On or about September 9, 2013, Taylor Investment Partners II, LLC filed a Complaint against Moe’s Franchisor, LLC, Moe’s Southwest Grill, LLC and Focus Brands, Inc. in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia.
According to that Complaint, between 2007 and 2012, Taylor Investment filed not one but two lawsuits alleging Moe’s Franchisor, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and/or Focus Brands took “kickbacks” despite representations in two different Uniform Franchise Offering Circulars that neither Moe’s Southwest Grill nor its affiliates would derive any income from Taylor Investment’s purchases of fixtures, furnishings, equipment, signs, materials and supplies.
The Complaint also alleged that eight (8) days after Taylor Investment filed the second such lawsuit, Moe’s Franchisor failed Taylor Investment on an inspection report and, within months, declared it in default of its franchise agreements and terminated the same. In its Complaint, Taylor Investment alleges Moe’s Franchisor concocted these defaults in bad faith in an effort to force it out of the Moe’s franchise system.
Such allegations are not uncommon in the franchisee community.
Anecdotes about franchisors “inventing” defaults to take over profitable locations, precipitate bankruptcies to buy prime real estate in foreclosure auctions, strip franchisees of “legacy” agreements with favorable terms, and engage in churning for initial franchise fees abound. Synonyms for anecdotes, however, are “data” and “evidence.”
Are you a franchisee in the “Focus system” (or other franchise system) that has had its franchise agreement terminated under questionable or suspicious circumstances or is familiar with someone who has?
Share a comment below or email us in confidence.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE MOE’S SOUTHWEST GRILL FRANCHISE OR OTHER FOCUS BRANDS FRANCHISES? PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
tags: Moe’s Southwest Grill, Moe’s Southwest Grill franchise, Moe’s franchise, Focus Brands, Focus Brands franchises, Taylor Investment Partners
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I have gone to moes a lot. But this time i have to say i was very disapointed The service was the worst. Have ever had. And im not sure i would be going back there !
My dad ask someone to make unsweet tea and when he took a drink of it was not unsweet tea it was green tea and when he told someone they acted they not not care.
My husband and I went to a Moe's located in Rocky Point, Long Island, N.Y. We were very impressed by the staff, location and more important - the quality and quantity of the food. They were the best tacos I have ever eaten and I couldn't wait to to to a Moe's near my home (near Syracuse). I searched the web and found a Moe's in Dewitt, New York in a shopping center on Erie Blvd. We went there the other day, only a week or two since our visit on Long Island. I ordered the same thing I had before and when I got to my table and unwrapped my tacos I couldn't believe it was the same chain as we had enjoyed so much on our first visit. The tacos were underfilled and looked like something I had ordered from Taco Bell. I think there was about a teaspoon of ground beef and everything else I ordered but it was very skimpy. I spoke to my daughter (who recommended the restaurant in Rockey Point) and she told me to contact you since that had never been her experience at her local Moe's. I will try the Moe's in Dewitt again just so I can find out if it was just a bad day or their policy. I do love Moe's and an anxious to relive the experience I had on Long Island. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing. However, if you were trying to contact Moe's customer service, you should try here:
http://www.moes.com/contact/
Good luck!
I thurally enjoy eating at moes it just aggrivates me when I get queso on my burrito and when i say i want the queso on my burrito to be my side of queso that comes with my meal noone ever under stands and most of the time i end up paying for queso on my burrito and not receiving my side with my meal.
Got Moe's to go. Beef burrits and tacos. Unable to eat cause it was so hot and spicey usually really good not this time. Got them to go before storm. Just made it home. Could not bring them back. So we had no food. There was four of us. Such a waste
Moes is very disappointing, at the location I worked at, in Cheektowaga ny the managers are all young girls with no managing experience and the owners don't care they act just as immature as them, the newest manager got the job by just sweetly asking the owner. OH AND THE UNSWEET TEA is just green tea, they use it for every tea, green, unsweetened and sweet, they just ad sugar. They don't care
I went to the moes in village of sandhills in columbia sc like I do all the time however this time it really became enouph with the bad services. Ive noticed in years passed that the portions are getting smaller and the service was terrible. Today 12/24/14 I came and ordered a billy borou the girl gave me one small scoop of chip for a whole basket of chips. 2 years ago it used to be 3 or more scoops and was two dollars cheaper. After I get over the sticker shock of what a basket of nachos is I proceed to eat when a moea employee walking around cleaning the tables come by I couldnt help but notice as iam eating he has two big loops in each ear about 3 inches in diameter. Neeedles to say I was grossed out so I threw 75% of my uneated food away. This will be my last trip back to moes.
Unprofessional, never going back. The staff are rude and do not care if something is wrong with your order
My wife & I ate at Moe's at the Las Vegas airport. It was NOT a good experience! We got there at 9:30 am & tried ordering breakfast (which they say they serve bfast until 10:00 am). One of the workers said "these eggs r old, do u really want these eggs"? Then they didn't have any potatoes. The rude worker told Amelia, the nice worker, "then just serve lunch"! She was so rude! So then we changed our minds & wanted to order lunch. The rice was old & crusty on top so the rude worker said we couldn't have rice bcuz it was bad. There was no chicken available! It wasn't cooked yet. I couldn't get beans bcuz they were cold. This was nothing but a nightmare. Since I couldn't get chicken, I went with steak. It actually sounded good.
We finally sat down to eat. I took a bite, & spit it right back out! The steak was HORRIBLE! It tasted really bad, almost like it was old or really gamey. So I took all the steak out & proceeded to eat the rest of my salad.
I will NOT eat at Moe's again!!
The one rude worker said to Amelia, "are u gunna make f------ make some eggs or what"?
This was the worst eating experience I've ever had! Two thumbs down for Moe's!