The Great Mall Exodus: GoTo Foods Reinvents the Food Court for the Drive-Thru Era

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For decades, the scent of cinnamon and baking pretzels served as the olfactory soundtrack to the American shopping mall. Brands like Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s thrived on a specific type of economic physics: high foot traffic generated by department store anchors, creating a captive audience susceptible to impulse buys. However, as the retail apocalypse hollowed out Class B and C malls and the pandemic altered consumer behavior, that physics broke down. Now, GoTo Foods—the parent company formerly known as Focus Brands—is executing a calculated pivot to liberate its portfolio from the food court and plant it firmly on the street corner.

Leading this transition is CEO Omer Gajial, who took the helm in May 2024. His mandate is substantial: transform a collection of legacy brands associated with 1990s mall culture into modern, accessible, drive-thru-ready powerhouses. According to a recent profile by Business Insider, Gajial intends to shift the company’s center of gravity. While the brands currently rely heavily on captive venues, the strategy demands a migration toward standalone locations and a more aggressive presence in grocery aisles.

Escaping the Captive Audience Trap

The structural decline of the enclosed shopping mall is hardly news, yet the exposure of GoTo Foods’ portfolio to this downturn has been uniquely high. Historically, brands like Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s did not require marketing to drive visitation; the mall developer did the work for them. Gajial’s strategy acknowledges that this era is over. The new directive involves moving these concepts to “street-side” locations, a shift that fundamentally changes the operational model.

Moving from a 600-square-foot kiosk to a standalone building—or even a strip mall end-cap with a drive-thru—requires a shift in consumer psychology. A customer at a mall buys a pretzel because they are already there; a customer at a drive-thru must make a specific trip for it. This necessitates a stronger reliance on digital marketing and loyalty programs to drive intentional traffic. As noted in coverage by Nation’s Restaurant News during the company’s corporate rebranding earlier this year, the shift to the name “GoTo Foods” signals an intent to become a destination rather than an afterthought.

The Economics of Dual-Branding

The standalone model presents a financial hurdle: average unit volume (AUV). Selling cinnamon rolls or smoothies alone often does not generate enough revenue to justify the real estate costs of a prime street-side location with a drive-thru. Gajial’s solution lies in the aggressive expansion of dual-branded units. By pairing complementary concepts—such as Auntie Anne’s with Jamba, or Cinnabon with Schlotzsky’s—the company can increase throughput across different dayparts.

This approach addresses the “snack” limitation. A smoothie brand might see a morning peak, while a pretzel brand peaks in the mid-afternoon. Combining them smooths out labor utilization and maximizes revenue per square foot. QSR Magazine reports that the company has already seen success with this model, with dual-branded locations frequently outperforming standalone units in profitability. For franchisees, this reduces the risk profile of opening new developments in a high-interest-rate environment, as the fixed costs of rent and management are amortized over two revenue streams.

Consumer Packaged Goods as a Growth Engine

Beyond the brick-and-mortar transition, Gajial is doubling down on the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) division. This is a tactic familiar to industry observers who have watched restaurants like Starbucks or California Pizza Kitchen monetize their brand equity in supermarkets. However, for GoTo Foods, CPG serves a dual purpose: revenue generation and marketing.

When a consumer sees Cinnabon frosting or Auntie Anne’s frozen pretzels in the grocery aisle, it keeps the brand top-of-mind even when the consumer isn’t visiting a physical location. Gajial, leveraging his background at PepsiCo and Amazon, views the grocery sector not merely as a licensing royalty stream but as a critical channel for brand relevance. The Business Insider report highlights that this omnichannel approach is essential for brands that were previously out of sight, out of mind for consumers who stopped visiting malls.

Revitalizing the Savory Portfolio

While the snack brands (Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Carvel) often grab headlines, GoTo Foods’ savory portfolio—McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s—faces a different set of challenges. These brands operate in the fiercely competitive fast-casual sector, dominated by giants like Chipotle and Panera Bread. Moe’s, in particular, has struggled to differentiate itself in a crowded market.

The strategy here involves operational streamlining and menu innovation. McAlister’s Deli has been a standout performer, showing strong growth in suburban markets where it serves as a community hub. The challenge lies in replicating that success with Moe’s and Schlotzsky’s. Gajial’s team is focused on improving speed of service and digital integration, ensuring that these brands can compete on convenience as much as taste. The goal is to make these locations viable for quick lunch crowds and third-party delivery, segments that have grown exponentially post-2020.

The Private Equity Context

It is impossible to analyze GoTo Foods without considering its ownership. The company is a portfolio holding of Roark Capital Group, the Atlanta-based private equity firm that also controls Inspire Brands (Dunkin’, Arby’s, Sonic) and Subway. Roark’s playbook typically involves tight operational control, heavy investment in franchising infrastructure, and aggressive scaling.

Gajial’s moves align perfectly with the private equity timeline. By diversifying away from malls and boosting unit economics through co-branding, he is effectively increasing the valuation multiple of the enterprise. A portfolio of street-side drive-thrus with strong digital sales is significantly more valuable to a potential future buyer or public market than a collection of mall kiosks. The “GoTo” rebrand itself suggests a consolidation of culture and operations, likely aimed at preparing the entity for a liquidity event or further acquisition in the coming years.

Navigating Franchisee Relations

The pivot to street-side development places a heavy burden on franchisees. Building a freestanding drive-thru is significantly more expensive than fitting out a mall inline space. High interest rates and construction costs add friction to this strategy. Gajial must convince his franchisee base that the return on investment justifies the higher upfront capital.

To facilitate this, the corporate office is reportedly focusing on prototype efficiency—reducing the square footage required for these new builds to lower construction costs. Furthermore, the push for dual-branding is a direct response to franchisee concerns about profitability. By offering a model that maximizes revenue potential per acre of land, GoTo Foods hopes to maintain the development pipeline despite macroeconomic headwinds. Recent industry analysis from Franchise Times suggests that franchisee buy-in will be the critical variable in the success or failure of this grand migration.

Technology and the Digital Guest Experience

Underpinning the physical move is a digital overhaul. In the mall era, GoTo Foods had little data on its customers; transactions were anonymous and cash-heavy. The move to standalone units and apps allows for rich data collection. The company has been investing in a unified technology stack that allows for cross-brand loyalty.

Ideally, a customer buying a sandwich at McAlister’s should be incentivized to grab a smoothie at Jamba. This cross-pollination is the “holy grail” for multi-brand platforms. While the company has not yet fully merged its loyalty programs into a single subscription akin to Uber One, the infrastructure is being laid to support higher cross-sell rates. This data-first approach allows for targeted marketing that replaces the passive foot traffic of the mall concourse.

The Road Ahead

Omer Gajial’s strategy is a necessary evolution for a company whose foundational real estate strategy became a liability. The brands themselves possess immense nostalgic value and recognition, but nostalgia does not pay the rent. By forcing these brands out of their comfort zones and into the competitive arena of street-side fast food, GoTo Foods is betting that its products have enough pull to become destinations in their own right.

The risks are tangible. The fast-food drive-thru market is saturated, and competitors have a decades-long head start on prime real estate. However, the alternative—remaining tethered to the declining fortunes of the American mall—is a slow path to irrelevance. For GoTo Foods, the future is paved, literally, with drive-thru lanes.