Max's Restaurant opens outlet in UAE

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino chicken restaurant Max’s Fried Chicken has opened its first outlet in the Middle East Sept. 1 to give overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) a taste of home.

In an interview, Max’s president Robert Trota said they opened their first outlet in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The store is a franchise and is a first of the 10 stores they plan on opening in the Middle East in five years. He said the stores will be in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and others.

Trota said initial sales will be from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) but they expect to get mainstream consumers. He said they have been getting good feedback from clients who say the taste is authentic Max’s. However, he said they do not serve pork and instead have things like crispy lamb in the menu.

Max’s already has 10 international stores. It opened in Toronto last January and will have another store in Canada this time in Vancouver early next year.

For their international stores, Trota said they prefer franchisors because these people are from the host country and they would know the culture and nuances better. He said investments for international outlets are from $600,000 to $1 million depending on the area.

Locally, he said the plan is to open five to eight stores this year. Since they already opened four stores this year, they need to open four more before the year ends. Next year, he said they would like to open 10 stores.

Trota said they will not list in the local bourse yet and will instead depend on franchising for growth.