Since 2006, Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen (GYG) has served up burritos, tacos and nachos to hungry Australians. Now, the company is slowly expanding into the United States.
“Guzman y Gomez has the ambitious goal of becoming the number one fast food company in the world, and as such, knows that to compete with the most established brands we must succeed in the US,” said Steven Marks, founder and CEO of Guzman y Gomez, over an email. “This is no easy undertaking though, GYG understands the saturation of the Mexican fast-food market in the US and in light of that, had to prove the success of Guzman y Gomez in Australia.”
Though based in Australia, Marks is a native New Yorker and had dreamed of bringing his business stateside. He started the fast food joint in 2006, along with Robert Hazan, and today there are over 175 spots across Australia, Singapore and Japan. The concept has garnered a following in those countries, helping to grow GYG’s reputation worldwide. Now the company has its sights set on the United States, especially after a successful run of its first drive-thru restaurant, which opened in 2020 in Naperville, Illinois.
After 16 years running GYG and the success of the Naperville location, said Marks, the brand is ready to grow even more, starting with Schaumburg, Illinois and then beyond. The team chose Illinois and the Chicago suburbs because the company loved the area, and, after extensive research on where…
