Mackay fast food horizons include Oporto, Lord of the Fries, Zarraffa‘s’s and Wendy’s

Krispy Kreme? Lord of the Fries? Oportos? Find out which yummy food outlets have plans on making the move to Mackay!

You asked and we listened!

We reached out to some of your favourite food franchises to see whether they had any plans on making the move to Mackay — and spoiler alert, it sounds like our tastebuds are in luck.

Oporto

Flame-grilled Portuguese chicken came to the shores of Sydney’s Bondi in 1986 when Antonio Cerqueira opened his first Oporto burger shop.

Now with stores in Townsville and Cairns, we wanted to know whether Mackay might be in the franchise’s sights.

Oporto’s spokeswoman Lisa Owen said she was thrilled to hear Mackay residents were calling out for an Oporto.

“We would love to open an Oporto in Mackay,” Ms Owen said.

“The biggest hurdle for us is finding the right location, and one that can accommodate a drive-through.”

Lord of the Fries

What started as a food van specialising in serving up hot, fresh, crispy fries in cones adorned with flavours from around the world may well be on the road to opening a Mackay store.

Lord of the Fries CEO Mark Koronczyk himself weighed in on the prospect — along with some how-to instructions.

“We’re really happy that the people in Mackay would love to see a LOTF store in Mackay and we’d love to open there,” Mr Koronczyk said.

But he said the first step in getting it off the ground was finding the right person for the job.

“The way expansion works is we have potential franchisees contact us and request a store,” Mr Koronczyk said.

“We don’t advertise for franchisees — when we find a franchisee that we think aligns with our values and we believe would do a great job, we grant them a store.

“We’d love someone from Mackay to approach us but so far we haven’t had any requests.”

Zarraffa’s Coffee

Zarraffa’s was one of the fan favourites in our poll, and the coffee hub CEO herself came to the table to discuss plans on an expansion in Mackay.

Marnie Sheldon said the franchise was actively seeking the right site for new stores in “key locations”.

The Daily Mercury reached out to see if Zarraffa’s had plans on coming to Mackay, November 23, 2021. Picture: Facebook

“There is huge enthusiasm for Zarraffa’s in Mackay and surrounds and we are keen to open a drive-through store in the near future,” Mrs Sheldon said.

“Our ideal site will be located on a main road with good traffic access and high visibility.”

Mrs Sheldon said not only is the franchise scoping the Mackay landscape, but Zarraffa’s is appealing for locals to get involved.

“We encourage landlords and property developers, or owners of commercially zoned land in the region, to get in touch,” Mrs Sheldon said.

“Once we have a location confirmed, we look forward to serving our Aussie-owned, handcrafted brand of specialty coffee to a whole new host of coffee-lovers.”

We can smell that roasted coffee already!

Wendy’s Milk Bar

Renowned for its ice cream cakes, thick shakes and hot dogs — it’s no wonder Wendy’s Milk Bar has made a home in Mackay before.

Wendy’s Milk Bar regional manager Karen Bourke was hopeful Mackay residents would not need to hold their breath to see the franchise on their shores again.

“We would love to bring Wendy’s Milk Bar back to Mackay as we have had stores there over the years as our customers would know,” Ms Bourke said.

“The past two years have been a bit challenging for everyone but looking forward — this is very much in our sights.”

Ms Bourke said it was just about finding the right fit.

“We would be looking to find a new Mackay store location and an enthusiastic owner to take it on,” she said.

Krispy Kreme

The best part of anyone flying into Mackay from Brisbane has got to be the box of Krispy Kremes that gets tucked into the luggage as a homecoming gift.

The Daily Mercury reached out to see if Krispy Kreme had plans on coming to Mackay. Picture: Facebook

Unfortunately, a Krispy Kremes spokeswoman said the delicious doughnut franchise did not have plans on expanding to Mackay in the near future.

But, she did suggest 7-Eleven may be a few steps ahead.

7-Eleven

Home to Krispy Kremes and $1 coffee and slurpees, 7-Eleven is often the convenience store of choice in big cities.

A spokeswoman from the franchise said while there were no plans yet, the company would eventually bring a 7-Eleven to Mackay.

“Each year we are growing the locations and number of stores available for our customers so never say never,” the spokeswoman said.

“We may come to you at some point in the future — Keep your eyes peeled.”

Other businesses were contacted for comment but did not respond.

These included Nando’s, Grill’d, Betty’s Burgers, Carls Jnr, Taco Bell, Bucking Bull, Milky Lane, Cactus Jack’s and Rosie’s Chicken.