Tony Townley co-founded the Zaxbys brand and helped build that franchise operation over 30 years before the chicken chain was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2020.
He sold his interest in Zaxbys. But Townley said he soon found he missed the food business, the strategy sessions, the franchisees.
“I missed all those guys,” he said. “That’s the bittersweet of it.”
So, earlier this year, Townley got back in.
He and a few other former Zaxbys folks acquired the Athens, Georgia-based concept Maepole, a three-unit fast casual that Townley felt hit right where younger diners want to eat.
Maepole was founded by chef Peter Dale, who owns the full-service restaurants Five & Dime (he worked there with famed chef Hugh Acheson, who later sold Dale the concept), Seabear Oyster Bar and The National, all in Athens.
Dale remains involved as culinary director at Maepole, but Townley and the other managing members are preparing the brand for growth.
What drew Townley to the brand is the healthful positioning. He describes it as “healthy comfort food.” The menu is almost entirely gluten-free (except for the mac & cheese) and they strive to keep it as low sugar as possible. Nothing is fried.
“We call it healthy comfort food because when you eat it, you have all this energy. You don’t have that lethargic feeling that you sometimes feel when you go out to eat steak and potatoes, or fried chicken and fries,” he said.
There are any number of combinations at Maepole. | Photo courtesy of Maepole.
There are signature offerings, but, in the style of Chipotle or Cava, Maepole is primarily a build-your-bowl concept.
Diners choose a base (salad, rice, mashed sweet potatoes, quinoa), then an assortment of vegetables (broccoli with ranch powder, roasted potatoes, kale/asparagus, mac & cheese and more). Proteins include baked chicken, pulled pork, braised beef, black-eye pea fritters, or tamari-marinated tofu. Then a sauce (sriracha-honey, turmeric-ginger, spicy avocado, lemon herb).
There are additional toppings, such as chow chow, kimchi or avocado; and Condor Chocolates for dessert (Dale is a co-founder of the chocolate brand).
The price for guests is based on the choice of base, two sides and a protein, and there’s an upcharge for additional add-ons.
It’s vegetable forward, but there is plenty for protein seekers. Townley said, “We feel that’s the direction of what’s to come. Especially Millennials and Gen Z, they’re all over this menu.”
Next year, Townley said they plan to open two more locations—in cities between Athens and Atlanta—that will serve as new prototype tests. These will explore adding a drive-thru and pickup windows, and they will be freestanding, to increase visibility of the brand.
It’s only been a few months, but Townley said they are working on the structure for growth, hiring an ad agency and public relations support, implementing a social media program and Maepole last week launched an app that is already boosting sales, he said. New menu items are coming later this year.
And the partners are working on franchising, which Townley said he hopes to have ready by the beginning of 2026.
“We’ve started working on our [Franchise Disclosure Documents], and ops manual and training manual,” he said. “We’re hoping by the first of the year, we can hit the ground running.”