A CT-based mac-and-cheese franchise thinks

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MacDaddy's: A CT-based mac-and-cheese franchise
thinks big
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MacDaddy¿s Mac Mushroom (Photo Courtesy Robert Dunn)
By John Adamian
3:50 p.m. EST, January 31, 2012
Many small-business owners are enthusiastic. And those who are on the verge of expansion are
maybe a little more excited and self-promotional than most. But Robert Dunn, the CEO of
MacDaddy's, a Connecticut-based mac-and-cheese franchise, has a messianic zeal when it
comes to macaroni elbows slathered in cheese sauce and baked in a skillet. Dunn's franchise,
which opened last year in Monroe, is preparing to open a new location in Milford in May. Dunn
says "a 10-store deal in Texas" was about to be signed.
When you ponder the concept of a growing mac-and-cheese franchise, you're probably either
thinking "Whah? I never heard of such a thing. What's a mac-and-cheese restaurant?" or, more
likely, "That guy's a genius! Why didn't I think of that?"
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American comfort food is big business these days. Lots of fancy restaurants have embraced
things like meatloaf and chicken pot pies, tweaking them with high-end ingredients to add an air
of respectability to these formerly humble dishes (and to jack up the price point). Mac and
cheese might be the dish most emblematic of American comfort food. It's not unusual to find
souped-up versions of mac and cheese made with lobster or chipotle peppers or goat cheese or
even truffle oil or foie gras. (Over-the-top, I know.) With a food both so beloved and versatile,
Dunn's concept might be a carb-heavy pot of gold.
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"I just took the side dish and made an entire concept," says Dunn. "With that being said, it's
been around a lot longer than hamburger and hot dogs."
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Dunn can wax historic on the subject, citing Thomas Jefferson as possibly the first president to
serve mac and cheese in the White House. He points to the Great Depression as a boom time
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for mac and cheese, since the dish was affordable, filling and satisfying. "It was a hot delicious,
cheesy good meal that didn't break the bank," says Dunn.
With mac-and-cheese that riffs on things like Philly cheese steak, Big Macs, eggs Benedict,
pizza and dozens of other classics (there are 25 varieties on the menu), Dunn is prepared to
branch out and take the concept anywhere he can. He's a little giddy about it. He initially entered
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the mac-and-cheese game back in 2009 when his higher-end restaurant was stumbling and at
the tail end of its lease. Rather than riding out a sluggish economy, Dunn says he closed the
place for 30 days and came up with a new concept: MacDaddy. Dunn says that his 2009
experience convinced him that there was a huge public appetite for mac-and-cheese. When the
lease ran out, Dunn regrouped, tweaked the concept and re-opened at the Monroe location last
year.
Dunn and his restaurant are putting an impressive dent in the local pasta supply. He says the
Monroe store goes through something like a ton of macaroni a week.
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"Right now we go through an entire pallet of macaroni every seven to 10 days," says Dunn. "A
pallet of macaroni has 58 cases. Each case contains 20 pounds of macaroni elbows."
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