Maoz Vegetarian (Boca Raton)
***** Maoz Vegetarian, 6000 Glades Road (Town Center Mall), Boca Raton, Florida 33431, (561) 393-6269.
As I mentioned the other day, last Sunday afternoon I killed some time at Town Center Mall–while Mrs. Jeff Eats searched for “who knows what.” Of course during my “stay”—I visited the mall’s recently reconfigured-rebuilt food court. Suffice it to say, the court looks great, but in my humble opinion–there aren’t enough fast-food outlets–and there is too much “duplication” with the outlets that are there. That said, I did come across an “interesting concept” in the fast-food business…Maoz Vegetarian, which- if I was a betting man, will be a “homerun” in the reconfigured Town Center Mall food court. Before I give you the skinny on Maoz Vegetarian, I gotta tell you that the folks behind Forever 21 (a national budget chain of women/men’s clothing & accessories) have to be genuises. Forever 21 just opened a gigantic 2-story location in the back of Town Center Mall’s food court and at 3pm last Sunday the store was jammed and I do mean jammed with people. Not to go off on a tangent here, but Mrs. Jeff Eats and Daughter Jeff Eats swear by this chain–trust me, these girls are professional shoppers. Anyway, let me get back to Maoz Vegetarian…
Maoz Vegetarian is a small fast food chain that does falafel…real simple concept- pita bread filled with falafel/salad (you pick combinations/dressings)—the joint also does belgian and sweet potato fries. You can check www.maozusa.com for menu/prices/prices. Just so you know, there are currently 13 Maoz locations in the United States (I told you it was a small chain)-the Boca outlet is the only Florida location. For the record, I did “one” of these pitas with sweet potato fries and it was delicious…real nice change from the burgers, pizzas, bourbon chicken that I usually get while killing time in malls.
Now nothing for nothing…but during the 20 minutes or so I was in the food court, Maoz had the longest and steadiest lines. Trust me, I know “20 minutes” isn’t long enough for a scientific study to base any conclusions on– As I told you a few seconds ago the food was delicious–and in doing some due diligence (talking to several security guards, mall/store/food court employees) it seems that since the food court’s re-opening a few months ago, Maoz has been doing some real nice business. For the record, if memory serves me correctly… the food court has a pretzel joint, salad joint, pizza joint, Chinese/Japanese joint, Earl of Sandwich joint, Chick-fil-A joint (which was closed on Sunday), yogurt joint—one other thing, in the bay next to the pizza joint there was an “opening soon” sign for another pizza joint–what’s that all about?
Let me wrap Maoz Vegetarian up for you…
I have eaten more food court “meals” than I choose to remember. Not going to list them all but, I’ve been fed by the “best” of them…Nathan’s, Subway, Panda Express, McDonald’s, Burger King, Auntie Annes, Earl of Sandwich, Wetzels Pretzels, Tutti Frutti Yogurt, Dairy Queen/Orange Julius, Saladworks, Kohl’s Frozen Custard, Tossed, Sbarro’s…I’ve devoured more free bourbon chicken toothpick samples than you can shake a stick out. Now, I may be going out on a huge and I do mean huge limb here, but…I am going to predict that itsy bitsy tweeny weeny Maoz Vegetarian is going to grow into a huge brand. The concept is simple, relatively new and has “yet” to be exploited on a national level…plus the food is fresh, delicious and its $5-$10 price points are reasonable…there is one caveat to my prediction—unless the Simons (mall owners) of the world decide that food courts can “handle” more than one falafel joint at a time.
One final observation on Maoz (now, I’m not 100% sure on this)–I think that the Boca Raton “store” is the chain’s first food court location. I believe that the other outlets are much larger and incorporate self-serve salad bars into the concept. If my thinking is correct on this, Maoz Vegetarian has two layouts that make the game even more interesting for potential franchisees.
The next time you are in Town Center Mall give Maoz Vegetarian a shot.
The joint is open, Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm, Sunday 11:30am-6pm.
Hey Jeff,
I ve been to the one in Town Center, its terrific.
I ve also been to the one on East 8th Street in Greenwich Village and its awesome. In that one they also have a salad bar and you can top off your pita with all of the salad you want.
This is a great concept.
A real healthy fast food alternative to burgers and other greasy foods.
I am very familar with Maoz. I use to live in Manhattan and have been to several of its NYC locations. Unlike the Boca Raton store the NYC ones have full salad bars and you can continuously load up your pita. It’s a great concept and the food is fresh and delicious. I now live in South Beach but my office is in Boca Raton. When I heard that Maoz was coming to Town Center I was all excited. I loved the NYC stores. I like the Boca store but itsn’t in the NYC league. The food is just fine but I really enjoyed the all you can eat concept better than just a fast food pita being handed to you.
As a PR rep I’m in the Town Center at least once a week. I’m also in Aventura Mall and Wellington Mall once a week each.
I have eaten Maoz food twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Belgian fries are sensational.
Aventura and Wellington could definitely use a Maoz.
Maos is great, i love it. They have been in Town Center since 2009.
A friend of my husbands was a partner in this location, I was shocked when he told us that although Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sun. it is the highest grossing restaurant in the food court.
His concern with Maos was the amount of time that it took them to deliver the finished product to the consumer.
From: thom
Subject: your blogs
Message Body:
I get a big kick out of your comments.. a smile comes to my face when you refer to wife and daughter as Mrs.Jeff eats and daughter Jeff eats… too funny. Referring to some places as joints… you have coined these places very well. I couldn’t agree more.
You are very honest and believable…reading your witty and honest comments is entertaining in its own way. You can see you are a gentleman who really enjoys this and thats the way to live life. Thanks.
—
hlwds:
So right.
Jeff has a great writing style.
Good taste in food.
Plus a really good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at oneself.
This is the best writeup Jeff ever did. Read it and catch the last line. It still makes me crackup.
June 22nd, 2008 · Buffet Chinese Deerfield Beach · [edit]
***** Top China Buffet, 4026 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442 (954) 458-0062.
I never met a buffet that I didn’t like…that is, if the food is half-way decent.
Over the years, I have been eating lunch at a Chinese buffet joint named Top China Buffet which is located in Deerfield Beach. Although I never measured this joint’s physical layout, I’ll bet you that it is 8,500-10,000 square feet…that’s a big joint.
Top China Buffet literally has a million items to select from…you name it and this joint’s got it (Chinese food), including sushi. The food is decent…we are not talking gourmet stuff here…we are talking decent, like “decent” stuff that you get from your favorite neighborhood Chinese takeout. I will tell you, that the bbq spare ribs and won ton soup are worth the price of admission alone, then again the sweet and sour pork is nothing to write home about. Like I said, this joint has something like a million things, so some dishes are going to be better than others.
In addition to having decent food and a very pleasant/attentive staff, Top China is a very clean and well run joint. The people who own this joint, really keep an eye on the buffet and keep everything fresh and well stocked. They also keep the seating-dining area immaculate.
Top China Buffet is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Figure on spending about 10 bucks for lunch and $15 for dinner.
One final note…take this for what it worth…about 5 store-bays down from Top China Buffet is a Cat Hospital…
Jan Edelman:
Just had a chance to read your comments.
So what’s the big deal that “about 5 store-bays down from Top China Buffet is a Cat Hospital”?
Thanks for reading…
hlwds:
Just had a chance to read your very kind comments.
Thank you,
Thanks for reading…
Last Summer I worked on 47th Street in Manhattan. The office was right near a Maoz store. Maybe it was 800 sq ft. It was always mobbed. Food is excellent.
Maoz has been in Town Center for several years. They are not new. They did nice business there. When they revuilt/reconfigured the food count they were closed and had to reopen. They usually give samples out which is smart because it gets customers and the food is good.
Jeff, I love Maoz at Boca Town Center Mall. Outstanding owner, he told me he has children in college (I think UF and UCF) and plans on opening at or near both colleges. One great thing is that the sweet potato fries and falafel are baked and not fried. Quality tasty healthy food at a very reasonable price…..gee what a concept!!
Jeff, not sure that parent company guys are go getters. I wrote to them months ago for franchise info and never got a reply. I’ve also called them twice but never got a reply to my messages.
Can always count on you. Love how you got back to there being 2 pizza joints side by side when you said that Simon could upend the cart here by letting another falafel into The food court.
Maoz are Israelis owned. They got a good thing going and I wish them luck. I am glad I ate at a few Felafel places in Israel. It is condiment city at those places with condiments displayed even in the open window 15 feet from vehicular traffic and I’m sure Maoz brought that to the USA and copied them
am yisrael chai!
Meanwhile Sunrise Pita http://sunrisepita.com/ (100% Kosher) in Broward at roughly 44th and University is very good and maybe better than Maoz which I have not been to
Maoz was very good, a nice change from mall food. We also ate there in Spain, and there were quite a few other falafel/veg places there. dd ranch is correct, though, Sunrise Pita is better-
Jeff.
Good food.
As for growth prospects don’t hold your breath.
Contacted co for franchisee info and never heard back from them.
Look to be not too aggressive.
Jeff, I like the store in Boca and NYC. Concept is very good. Like WHIZKid I called the Company for franchise information and no one ever followed up with me. I think you maybe way off on growth potential of this company.
decent idea.
i wrote to co for info and never got a response.
dont expect too much growth here with that kind of mgt.
just got food there. delicious. nice product.
Loved it.
Was in the mall the other day and tried it for the first time.
Really great product.
Jeff, I think you are right. In the right development hands this food concept could be enormous. Haven’t seen anything like it in any other mall.
The one by me in NYC is terrific and always jammed.
Maoz has a wonderful selection of vegetarian dishes on their menu. I give them 5 stars. By Gregg L. Friedman MD, Psychiatrist, Hallandale Beach, FL
I was in Boca Town Center on Sunday and while waiting to meet a friend near the food court I noticed a small crowd buzzing around. The buzz was created by a Moaz Vegetarian employee giving free samples of their falafel. I was lucky enough to snap one up and it was delicious. My friend wanted to go to the stir-fry place called Stir Crazy away from the food court, but due to a problem that day they had a note on the door that they would not open until 4PM. I talked my friend into going back to the food court area and I decided to give Maoz a test run. The employees were friendly and helpful and the service was quick. From my observation they were jamming, clearly doing more business than other restaurants in the food court. I spoke with a girl who was seated near me and she said she works in the mall and eats there every day and it is always a good experience and they are constantly busy. From my first impression, I can see why. I’ll be going back!
And by the way, I am down from 255lbs to 185lbs (yes minus 70 pounds!) since seeing the movie Forks Over Knives 7/19/11 and making an honest effort since to follow a vegan diet.
Moaz Vegetarian has great Veggie food at a great price. The service was fast and the staff was really nice. By Gregg L. Friedman MD, Psychiatrist, Hallandale Beach, FL
jeff, they just opened one in s beach and people are standing in line to get in. great food and great store location.
JEFF EATS:
THE NEW STORE IN SOUTH BEACH IN AMAZING.
IT’S ON THE SMALL SIDE, BUT THE FOOD IS DELICIOUS.
IT’S NOT LIKE THE ONE IN BOCA AS THERE IS A SALAD BAR AND YOU GET THE TOPPINGS FROM THE STAFF.
Tried the new s beach location. What a great concept. I’m hooked.
Jeff:
tried the new s beach loc.
its a literally a hole in the wall.
line out the door.
food is fabulous.
sorry I didn’t think of this idea.
wonder where they open next.
Was in s beach loc today. Line out the door. Great selection and the food is delicious.
Jeff, the south beach store is always a mob scene.
it is so popular that it isn’t really funny.
I love the food and the ambiance.
Ate in Boca mall loc today. Food is delicious.
This is a terrific fast food place. Love the food and its priced right.
Was in South Beach and ate in MOAZ’s new store. Food is great. Im very familiar with this chain as Ive eaten in it NYC. Great vegetarian selection.
Tried S. Beach loc.
Loved it. Great vegetarians.
This is my favorite restaurant in the food court.
Love the hummus with a nice salad.
I also love this place. This is my go to in the food court.
I have also been to South Beach store and its terrific.
They should build more of these stores.
I go to UCF and one up by the school would do great.
Maoz has it figured right.
Love the Town center location.
Definitely have to try South Beach.
the s beach loc is always packed. the food is great.
Love their food.
They were slamming in Boca okay. Their food is delicious.
MAOZ in Town Center is the best joint in the food court. I love its food.
love the food.
as fresh as can be,