Mad Mex (Australia)

Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill
IndustryRestaurant
Founded21 March 2007 (2007-03-21)[1]
FounderClovis Young
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
ProductsTacos, burritos, and other Mexican-related fast food
WebsiteOfficial website

Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill, referred to simply as Mad Mex, is a multinational chain of fast-food restaurants based in Sydney, Australia, that purveys Mexican cuisine.[2] Stores are decorated after Lucha libre, and as of late 2022, 71 were in operation.[3]

Mad Mex was founded by Clovis Young, a Californian who immigrated to Australia in 2006 and opened the first Mad Mex outlet in 2007.[4]

In the early 2010s, a company named Mad Group was appointed as the master franchisee of the Mad Mex chain for New Zealand.[5][6] The first Mad Mex outlet in that country was opened in 2013.[5] By 2015, Mad Group was operating six Mad Mex outlets in New Zealand.[5][6] That year, the company launched an equity crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise NZ$1.5 million in growth capital, mainly to finance opening new outlets.[5][6] The campaign did not raise the NZ$750,000 initially sought, but a second campaign aiming to raise NZ$500,000 was successful.[6]

In September 2019, 4Fingers Crispy Chicken announced its acquisition of a 50% stake in Mad Mex.[7] As part of the partnership, 4Fingers opened Mad Mex's first stores in Asia; these being in Singapore and Malaysia in 2019.[8] The company bought out 4Fingers in 2021.[9] During 2023, all of the Mad Mex outlets in New Zealand were closed after several holding companies went into liquidation.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Butterworth, Monique (13 November 2007). "Mexican wave". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015.
  2. ^ Barbaschow, Asha (7 August 2017). "Fast food chain Mad Mex ready to serve up insights from machine learning". ZDNet. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Quick Service Restaurant". Topfranchise. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Clovis Young, Mad Mex". Shopping Centre News. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mad's crowdfunding push aims to raise up to $1.5m for growth spurt". The New Zealand Herald. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e Peacock, Alice (2 April 2025). "Leading restaurateur liquidated owing $800k-plus; young workers out of pocket". Newsroom. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  7. ^ Shiao, Vivien (20 September 2018). "4Fingers acquires 50% stake in Aussie brand Mad Mex". The Business Times. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Mad Mex goes global with Singapore and Malaysian expansion". Business News Australia. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Mad Mex back in Australian hands as founder buys out JV partner". Business News Australia. Retrieved 9 December 2021.