may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral . please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message moe s southwest grill type subsidiary industry fast casual restaurant founded atlanta georgia united states 2000 ; 16 years ago 2000 headquarters atlanta georgia united states number of locations 600 2015 area served north america key people paul damico president 1 products tacos burritos quesadillas stacks nachos burrito bowls white rice with a southwest seasoning and other southwestern fare parent focus brands website moes.com moe s southwest grill referred to informally as moe s was founded in atlanta georgia in december 2000 2 by raving brands . in august 2007 the brand was purchased by focus brands . 3 as of 2015 there were about 600 locations in operation in 38 states . 4 as of july 14 2014 update the number of moe s locations increased to over 600 in the us after signing 120 new franchises in six months . 5 according to the 2016 harris poll equitrend survey moe s is the fast casual mexican restaurant of the year passing former top restaurant chipotle mexican grill even with less than half the number of locations as chipotle has . 6 7 contents 1 fare 2 international locations 2.1 turkey 2.2 russia 3 references 4 external links fare edit many of the menu items have names drawn from popular culture such as art vandalay and close talker both from the television series seinfeld where art vandalay refers to george s alias as an architect and importer exporter . close talker refers to elaine s boyfriend who talks unusually close to people . 8 who is kaiser salsa a reference to the infamous and mysterious villain in the usual suspects . el guapo s infamous salsa named after the villain in the movie three amigos . the triple lindy burrito no longer on the menu a reference to the movie back to school . the john coctostan quesadilla a reference to the movie fletch . the billy barou nachos a reference to the movie caddyshack . the ruprict may be a mistaken reference to weasel words steve martin s character ruprecht in a scene from the movie dirty rotten scoundrels . the julia gulia stack a reference to the movie the wedding singer the earmuffs burrito bowl a reference to the movie old school the wrong doug stack a reference to the movie the hangover where the main characters mistake comedian mike epps of color named doug for their caucasian friend . international locations edit garden hills location the very first moe s on earth moe s has locations in turkey and russia . according to the company newsroom website moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com franchise partners also exist in costa rica 9 and jamaica . 10 turkey edit in 2011 moe s opened its first location outside the united states in turkey . 11 russia edit in september 2012 moe s opened its first russian franchise 12 located in the center of moscow near the kremlin on pyatnitskaya street . 13 14 references edit focus brands press release moe s southwest grill names paul damico as brand president may 6 2008 focus brands press release focus brands to acquire moe s southwest grill april 11 2007 minnick fred focus brands buys moe s southwest grill qsr magazine april 11 2007 focus brands press release focus brands and roark capital complete purchase of moe s southwest grill august 30 2007 moe s southwest grill inks 120 new franchise deals in first half of 2014 . moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com press release . july 14 2014 . retrieved july 18 2014 . the harris poll . www.theharrispoll.com . retrieved 2016 06 10 . this restaurant just unseated chipotle as the most popular mexican chain . usa today . retrieved 2016 06 10 . mcclurg kelly 2002 04 12 . moe s southwest grill expanding in local market . birmingham business journal . retrieved 2009 04 01 . matt levin november 24 2012 with moe s finally a real burrito in costa rica ticotimes.net . retrieved 18 july 2014 moe s southwest grill opens first jamaican location . moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com retrieved 18 july 2014 moe s southwest grill opens first international location in turkey . moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com retrieved 18 july 2014 http moesrussia.com 13 pyatnitskaya street . google maps . moe s southwest grill to open 50 restaurants in russia . moessouthwestgrill.wordpress.com retrieved 18 july 2014 external links edit official website moe s newsroom v t e focus brands auntie anne s carvel cinnabon mcalister s deli moe s southwest grill schlotzsky s v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box johnny rockets krystal mcdonald s roy rogers shake shack smashburger sonic steak n shake wayback wendy s whataburger white castle asian l & l hawaiian barbecue manchu wok panda express pei wei asian diner pick up stix sarku baked goods au bon pain auntie anne s bruegger s cinnabon corner bakery cafe dunkin donuts einstein bros. great american cookies honey dew donuts krispy kreme mrs. fields nestl toll house panera bread pretzelmaker pretzel time shipley do nuts tim hortons t.j. cinnamons wetzel s winchell s beverages argo tea biggby coffee caribou coffee bean & tea leaf coffee beanery dunn bros gloria jean s jamba juice juice it up orange julius peet s planet smoothie robeks seattle s best coffee smoothie king starbucks teavana tropical smoothie cafe tully s frozen desserts baskin robbins ben & jerry s braum s bruster s carvel cold stone culver s dairy queen dippin dots fosters freeze friendly s golden spoon graeter s h agen dazs handel s kiwi yogurt maggiemoo s marble slab menchie s pinkberry red mango rita s sweet frog tastee freez tcby tropical sno tutti frutti yogen fr z yogurtland hot dogs hot dog on a stick nathan s famous portillo s wienerschnitzel mexican style tex mex baja fresh cafe rio chipotle del taco el pollo loco freebirds green red burrito moe s pancheros qdoba rubio s taco bell taco bueno taco cabana taco del mar taco john s taco mayo taco time wahoo s fish taco noodles fazoli s noodles & company sandwiches arby s atlanta bread blimpie capriotti s charley s cos cousins d angelo daphne s erbert & gerbert s firehouse subs great wraps jason s jerry s subs jersey mike s jimmy john s lenny s sub mcalister s deli miami subs mr. hero newk s eatery penn station port of subs pdq potbelly quiznos rax runza sandella s schlotzsky s steak escape subway togo s tubby s tudor s biscuit world which wich seafood arthur treacher s captain d s h. salt esquire ivar s long john silver s skippers seafood & chowder house defunct bresler s ice cream brigham s burger chef carrols d lites druther s henry s hamburgers hot n now hot sam pretzels naugles red barn sandy s zantigo retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title moe % 27s southwest grill & oldid 744331720 categories companies based in atlantacuisine of the western united statesfast food mexican restaurantsfast food chains of the united statesrestaurants in georgia u.s. state restaurants established in 2000restaurant chains in the united statesrestaurants in atlantaamerican companies established in 2000hidden categories articles lacking reliable references from july 2014all articles lacking reliable referencesarticles containing potentially dated statements from july 2014all articles containing potentially dated statementsall articles with specifically marked weasel worded phrasesarticles with specifically marked weasel worded phrases from may 2015 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main 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