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Guzman y Gomez

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Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen
TypePublic unlisted company
IndustryCasual dining restaurant - Fast food
Founded2006; 16 years ago (2006) in Newtown, New South Wales, Australia
HeadquartersSurry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Number of locations
151
Area served
Key people
Steven Marks (Founder, CEO), Robert Hazan (Co-Founder, NED), Guy Russo (Chairman)
ProductsTacos, burritos, nachos, and other Mexican-inspired items
Number of employees
3000+
Websitewww.guzmanygomez.com.au

Guzman y Gomez (Holdings) Ltd (GYG; /ɡʊz.ˈmɑːn.iː.ɡoʊ.ˈmɛz/)[1] is an Australian multinational casual-dining and fast food restaurant chain. It specialises in Mexican cuisine with dishes such as burritos, nachos, tacos, quesadillas and other Mexican-inspired items, including drinks.

Guzman y Gomez was established in Sydney in 2006 by New York City duo Steven Marks and Robert Hazan, and locally operates over 150 restaurants. It has expanded internationally with locales in Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Restaurants[edit]

In Australia, the franchise had 135 restaurants in operation as of 2016.[2] The franchise operates internationally in Singapore,[3] Japan,[4] and the United States. The company continues to expand with new stores around Australia.[5] In 12 years, they have opened 100 stores in Australia.[6] They opened 23 new restaurants since early 2020 and more than 30 new restaurants are planned by mid 2022.[7]

History[edit]

Guzman y Gomez was established by Steven Marks, a New Yorker who previously worked as a hedge fund manager. After relocating to Australia, he found the quality of Mexican food to be poor and decided to start a restaurant.[8] He has stated that "real Mexican is really urban, street and hot [...] Latin people are so full of energy and full of life, we wanted to bring that to Australia".[9] He took on his friend Robert Hazan, another New Yorker, as a partner. They named the business after two of Marks' childhood friends.[10]

The first store was opened in Newtown, Sydney in 2006.[11] The business initially employed Colombians, with Marks stating that Australians would not know the difference "as long as you speak Spanish".[8] Store openings in Bondi Junction and Kings Cross followed within a year.[12] By April 2012, there were 12 stores.[9] The first Guzman y Gomez in the Melbourne CBD opened in November 2012.[13]

International expansion[edit]

The first international Guzman y Gomez restaurant opened at the end of 2013 in Singapore,[14] followed thereafter by the opening of a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan in April 2015.[15] In January 2020, Guzman y Gomez's international expansion continued with the opening of their first restaurant in the United States in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois.[16][17]

Ownership and finance[edit]

Marks and Hazan initially supported GYG with their own money. In 2009 they sold a minority stake to Peter Ritchie, Guy Russo and Steve Jermyn, who had previously been involved with McDonald's Australia.[8] Russo was subsequently appointed chairman of the board.[10] The board also includes co-founder Robert Hazan, 3 former McDonalds executives, Tom Cowan of TDM Growth Partners,[18] and Rokt CEO Bruce Buchanan.[19] Investment firm TDM Growth Partners bought a stake in the company for $44 million in August 2018.[8] In December 2020, the publicly listed Magellan Financial Group bought 10% of the company for $86.8 million.[20] In May 2022, Magellan sold its 11.6% stake in the company to an entity owned by investment bank Barrenjoey Capital Partners for $140 million.[21]

Marks stated in 2019 that his goal was to list GYG on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).[8] In 2020 he stated that he was also ambitious to expand the company's presence in the United States, citing Australia's "antiquated" labour laws, high rents, and expensive fresh produce.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ About Us: The Fun Stuff. Guzman y Gomez. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2019 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "All Locations". Guzman y Gomez. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Singapore Locations". Guzman y Gomez Singapore. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Locations". Guzman y Gomez Japan. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Guzman y Gomez plots hi-tech drive-through Mexican wave". News.com.au.
  6. ^ "How Guzman Y Gomez took on McDonald's without marketing". AdNews. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Five Guzman y Gomez drive-thru stores available". Franchise Business. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e Gillezeau, Natasha (15 October 2019). "From Wall St finance bro to burrito king". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b Mason, Max (9 April 2012). "From Wall Street, he rode in on a Mexican wave". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014.
  10. ^ a b c Waters, Cara (22 February 2020). "'Build the next McDonald's': Guzman y Gomez heads to the US on way to IPO". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  11. ^ Chung, Frank (8 April 2016). "McDonald's, Guzman y Gomez and Domino's smash fast-food rankings, Pizza Hut in crisis". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
  12. ^ Butterworth, Monique (13 November 2007). "Mexican wave". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  13. ^ Vedelago, Chris (21 November 2012). "Mexican chain finds city home". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012.
  14. ^ Kitney, Damon (11 August 2014). "McDonald's old boys beef up the burritoa". The Australian.
  15. ^ St. Michel, Patrick (24 April 2015). "The Taco Bell is ringing, but will Tokyo come to the party?". The Japan Times.
  16. ^ "Guzman Y Gomez is coming to Naperville". Guzman y Gomez. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  17. ^ Wilson, Marie (14 January 2020). "Naperville is getting the nation's first Australian Mexican restaurant". Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
  18. ^ "The rise of Guzman y Gomez: the making of a global brand". Business News Australia. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Why Rokt and its biggest investor are pushing ahead with a 2023 IPO". Financial Review. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Magellan pays up for Guzman y Gomez". The Australian Financial Review. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Magellan sells Guzman y Gomez stake to Barrenjoey unit for $140m". The Australian Financial Review. 9 May 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2022.

External links[edit]

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