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Former Pei Wei CEO To Bring Gooey-Cheesy-Goodness To Houston Fast-Casual Space

Grilled Cheese
Photo credit: Wikimedia

The grilled cheese situation in Houston is about get to a whole lot feta. The Melt, a 17-store chain in California and Colorado, known for its all-natural specialties like grilled cheese, cheeseburgers, and mac and cheese, will open its first Houston store in the Baybrook Mall in November. Three more Houston stores are in the works. The Melt will face an increasingly crowded space, up against fast-casual juggernauts Hopdoddy and Shake Shack, which also highlight the source of their ingredients. One thing The Melt has others don't: extensive fast-casual experience. The Melt's CEO, Ralph Bower, is the former CEO of the fast-casual pioneer Pei Wei. Bower told CultureMap he thinks the Houston area could support up to 20 locations. [CM]

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Related Topics: Fast Casual, Ralph Bower, The Melt
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