Bennigan’s is known for the emotional connection people worldwide have to the iconic, 42-year-old brand, and that bond will be reinforced yet again when its newest restaurant opens in Mandan, North Dakota, on August 20.
Bennigan’s Co-Owner Gwen Mangiamele and local entrepreneurs Monte Stein and Rob Knoll have been friends since childhood. Monte and Rob recently approached Gwen with their goal to bring Bennigan’s – a national casual-dining brand they’ve loved for years – to Mandan, a town of roughly 22,000 people.
“Rob and I are passionate about Mandan and we’re advocates for bringing economic development to our community,” Stein says. “We felt the timing was right for a world-renowned restaurant brand like Bennigan’s to come here. Our Bennigan’s is going to set a new standard in North Dakota for Legendary service and warm, friendly hospitality.”
The new restaurant, located at 1506 27th St. NW, will celebrate its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 20. Mandan Mayor Tim Helbling, who attended high school with Stein, Knoll and Mangiamele, will join the festivities in welcoming the town’s first casual-dining restaurant.
“Bennigan’s has been very successful in the smaller markets that so many other brands ignore, and we agreed that Mandan is a perfect fit for our development strategy,” Mangiamele adds. “Couple that with Rob’s and Monte’s capabilities as franchisees, and we felt like we had an ideal model for success.”
The new Mandan Bennigan’s will offer more than a dozen ice cold beers on tap, a wide assortment of handcrafted specialty drinks, multiple HD TVs and plenty of banquet space. The chef-driven menu features signature, made-from-scratch Bennigan’s favorites like the World Famous Monte Cristo, Oh, Baby Back Ribs, the Turkey O’Toole, Lina’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich, true half-pound Prime Burgers and the decadent Death by Chocolate. In addition, three authentic Steak & Ale Classics – the Original Kensington Club, Hawaiian Chicken and Smothered Chicken – will be showcased.
The restaurant will also feature a booth dedicated to Mangiamele’s parents and long-time Mandan residents, Lillian and Leonard Bachmeier.
As it redefines the casual dining segment, Legendary Restaurant Brands LLC continues to experience significant unit growth both domestically and internationally while achieving solid revenue growth over the last several years.
Since the end of 2012, the company has opened new franchise locations in Clarksburg and Frederick, Md.; Sacramento, Calif.; Melbourne, Fla.; Monahans, Texas; Lexington, Ky.; Veracruz, Mexico; Larnaca, Cyprus; Obarrio, Panama; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai, UAE.
New restaurants are coming soon to Steubenville, Ohio, and Memphis, Tenn.; and internationally in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Amsterdam and Pakistan, with more than 100 additional locations in development.
