LONG ISLAND RESIDENT TO OPEN MIGHTY
QUINN’S BBQ FRANCHISE IN FOREST HILLS
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Michael Dolan of Nassau
County, a former Wall Street
equity sales trader, is working
on opening his own fastcasual
barbecue restaurant
in Forest Hills by the end of
this year.
After working in the corporate
world for the past 14
years at a brokerage firm,
Dolan is planning to open
Mighty Quinn’s BBQ at 108-
22 Queens Blvd. after signing
a multi-unit agreement
with the NYC-based brand.
“Entrepreneurship is
something that I’ve always
been enamored by and working
in the corporate world
for a long time, having something
that I could call my
own is what I have longed
for, and this is a great opportunity
that fell into my lap,”
Dolan said.
Dolan was first introduced
to Mighty Quinn’s in
the East Village in Manhattan.
While living just two
blocks from the restaurant,
he would visit the site — one
of seven in the NYC area
— once a week for its allnatural
meats and poultry,
seasoned with perfect spice
blends and wood-smoked.
“I was there basically
when they opened in the
beginning of 2013, when the
lines were out of the door
and received rave reviews
from The New York Times,”
Dolan said.
Several years later, when
Mighty Quinn’s announced
its franchise opportunity,
Dolan said he decided to quit
his office job to become a
franchise owner.
His plans came to a halt
when COVID-19 hit, but
now he’s officially bringing
the concept to Queens
residents.
“I was looking for something
that was more protein
vegetable-based as opposed
to pizza, burgers and fries,
and I do believe that’s the
future of a fast-casual diner
and what the customer
wants,” Dolan said. “That’s
how I stumbled upon Mighty
Quinn’s — I loved them and
I knew the brand well, and
in terms of business, I was
looking for something that
had brand equity in the
New York area, something
that New Yorkers know and
love.”
Mighty Quinn’s is the
first authentic barbecue
experience in a fast casual
TIMESLEDGER | Q 10 NS.COM | OCT. 8 - OCT. 14, 2021
setting and winner of the
2013 Zagat award for best
new restaurant in New York.
Defining urban barbecue,
Mighty Quinn’s BBQ is the
merging of two great barbecue
traditions: Texas and
the Carolinas.
As a brand, Mighty
Quinn’s was first introduced
in 2011, when co-founder and
pitmaster Hugh Mangum
smoked brisket and pulled
pork out of a mobile smoker
hitched to his pickup truck
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Deciding to expand beyond
the mobile offering,
which regularly resulted in
a 40-person line that continued
to grow until Mangum
ran out of product, Mangum
joined forces with his
step-brother, Micha Magid,
and Micha’s brother-in-law,
Christos Gourmos, to open
the first brick-and-mortar
Mighty Quinn’s restaurant
in the East Village.
Since the brand’s inception,
the three partners
have opened nine corporateowned
locations, a restaurant
at Yankee Stadium, two
locations in Madison Square
Garden and one international
franchised restaurant.
Now, with strong operations
and a growing fan base,
the brand wants to push
growth forward through
franchising.
For Dolan, Mighty
Quinn’s had checked a lot
of boxes — from its chefinspired
meals served in a
fast-casual format and the
management and corporate
team’s efforts to grow the
business, making it more
scalable, he said.
According to Dolan,
he searched extensively
throughout Queens for a location
to open his franchise.
After some time, he decided
to settle in Forest Hills on
the corner of Queens Boulevard
and 71st Road.
“It’s a great footprint.
It’s very close to the subway
station and Austin Street.
I think it’s going to be well
received by Forest Hills consumers
and all of Queens,”
Dolan said. “I liked the foot
traffic on Austin Street and
Queens Boulevard, which is
a major thoroughfare within
Queens, and it’s a great
neighborhood feel that’s
very vibrant and full of life.”
Dolan’s plans for his franchise
will be similar to that
of Mighty Quinn’s in Manhattan,
he said.
“There will be great brisket,
brontosaurus ribs, pork
spare ribs, along with the
traditional sides of Brussels
sprouts, mac ‘n’ cheese, and
sweet potato casserole – all
of the great things you’ll
find at Mighty Quinn’s in
Manhattan,” Dolan said.
From a decor perspective,
according to Dolan, the venue
will have reclaimed wood
and Edison light bulbs that
have made Mighty Quinn’s
so popular in Manhattan.
The spot will also have a
full bar, which is not typical
of a traditional Mighty
Quinn’s.
While construction is ongoing
at the site, Dolan says
they’re hoping to be open by
the end of the year.
Looking forward, Dolan
says he hopes to expand his
franchise in the near future.
“While Mighty Quinn’s
has been growing significantly
nationwide, my plan
is to open up four locations
in Queens within the next
couple of years, under the
assumption that everything
goes well in Forest Hills,”
Dolan said.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
Nassau County resident Michael Dolan is hoping to expand the
Mighty Quinn’s BBQ franchise in Queens in the near future.
Photo courtesy of Dolan
Photo courtesy of Mighty Quinn’s BBQ/Instagram
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