Meson Sandwiches marks 50th anniversary with 2 new stores

El Mesón Sándwiches is marking its 50th anniversary with the opening of two new locations in the Molino shopping center in Guayama and in Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida, both expected to open in May.

By the end of this year, the company expects to have a total of 41 restaurants split between Puerto Rico and Orlando, where with the opening in Lake Nona there will be four stateside locations. El Mesón first opened in Florida in June 2015.

Meson Sandwiches RestaurantEmployees are already being recruited and an average of 50 direct and 50 indirect jobs will be created per restaurant, company officials confirmed.

“El Mesón Sándwiches is a family business; now with a much larger family made up of more than 1,500 ‘mesoneros’ who strive every day to provide the best and freshest product,” said the President of El Mesón Sándwiches, Felipe Pérez-Grajales.

“We have launched an innovative campaign that will feature multiple activities and surprises throughout the year to thank our clientele and mark this historic moment together with the great family of El Mesón,” said Pérez-Grajales.

Under the slogan “Más boricua, nadie,” El Mesón Sándwiches will commemorate its half century in Puerto Rico with the opening of new restaurants and the launch of a marketing campaign that will run through 2022.

For the campaign, the restaurant chain has forged an alliance with a cultural institution which will launch several promotional products, new varieties of sandwiches, technological platforms that will make the purchase of the Puerto Rican chain’s products more efficient and agile, as well as social cause initiatives, among others, he said.

The first El Mesón restaurant was founded in 1972 in the town of Aguadilla, and since then has achieved a chain of success and growth, becoming the first and largest native fast-food chain in Puerto Rico.

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May 18 is Officially ‘Meson Sandwiches Day’ in Orlando, Mayoral Proclamation States

May 18 is Officially ‘Meson Sandwiches Day’ in Orlando, Mayoral Proclamation States

ORLANDO, Fla., May 18, 2018 – May 18 was declared “Meson Sandwiches Day” by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who honored the Puerto Rican restaurant chain with a proclamation this Friday during the grand opening of its third Central Florida store. The celebration was also attended by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who awarded the Governor’s Business Ambassador medal to Meson president Felipe Pérez-Grajales. Scott also unveiled Florida’s latest employment number at the event.

The restaurant marked the opening of its third Central Florida location with a proclamation by Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and received a medal from Florida Gov. Rick Scott for its job-creation role in the state

The new in-line restaurant, with a convenient drive-thru, is located at the Lee Vista Promenade, near Orlando International Airport.

“We are delighted to have Meson Sandwiches as part of Orlando’s business community,” Dyer said. “Our community continues to grow and thrive, and the Puerto Rican community is a big part of that.  With their famous sandwiches and fresh coffee, Meson Sandwiches will strengthen cultural connections between Puerto Rico and Central Florida as it serves our diverse, inclusive community”.

The mayor’s sentiments were amplified in his proclamation, which reads in part: “Meson Sandwiches is helping build bridges and strengthen cultural connections between Puerto Rico and Central Florida as an ambassador of island flavors and goodwill at a time that the region is experiencing unprecedented growth of its Puerto Rican community. Meson has demonstrated its commitment to Central Florida by supporting local nonprofits, grassroot groups and education initiatives, becoming a trusted corporate citizen and neighbor.”

Each Meson store generates approximately 50 direct jobs, contributing to Central Florida’s strong job growth.

“It is great to be at Meson Sandwiches today, which has helped many Puerto Rican families find a job and feel at home in Florida,” Scott said. “It is an honor to present the Governor’s Business Ambassador Award to Mr. Pérez-Grajales for his efforts to create jobs and opportunities for Florida families. I was also proud to visit Meson earlier this month in Puerto Rico to congratulate them on their success. Since December 2010, more than 1.5 million jobs have been created across the state, because of businesses like Meson Sandwiches.”

The Orlando region has led the state in job creation for 37 straight months, creating 8,300 new jobs in the month of April alone, Scott added. The area’s unemployment rate is at 3.1 percent, .8 percent lower than the state’s 3.9 percent average.

Pérez-Grajales said the restaurant chain founded by his father more than 45 years ago, is committed to serving Central Florida.

“It is humbling for our family business to be recognized by both the governor and the mayor,” Pérez-Grajales said. “We are growing strong in Central Florida, where customers, government officials and community leaders have welcomed us with open arms. We feel compelled to pay this kindness forward, which is why we support initiatives and causes that strengthen us all.”

A fourth Meson Sandwiches restaurant is scheduled to open early 2019 at Gardens on Millenia. The other two locations currently in operation are in Osceola Parkway and The Florida Mall.

The new restaurant launches a new design concept for Meson Sandwiches in the mainland US. The inside walls will tell the company’s story through beautiful imagery to include murals and historic photographs. The artistic design will evoke the colors and warmth of the tropics for a laid-back, yet sophisticated feel. The pictorial representation will also pay homage to the diverse customer base Meson Sandwiches has had through the years, which includes American and European surfers at its original location in Aguadilla, as well as military families from nearby Ramey Air Force Base. The company currently boasts 37 stores throughout the island.

Each Central Florida Meson Sandwiches store represents millions of dollars in direct and indirect economic activity and generates about 50 jobs.

Meson Sandwiches is Puerto Rico’s largest restaurant chain. It offers all-day breakfast, 100 percent Arabica coffee, and an array of signature and specialty sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vegetarian options like salads, baked potatoes with multiple toppings and meat-free sandwiches are also available.

El Meson Sandwiches Puerto Rico Restaurants to Serve as Distribution Centers

Cities and towns spanning the entire island of Puerto Rico were shred to pieces by Hurricane Maria just weeks after the embattlement of Hurricane Irma. The road back to normalcy will no doubt be long, costly and complex. El Meson Sandwiches reiterates its commitment to be an active part in Puerto Rico’s recovery for the long run.

As a first step, and to help alleviate the suffering of those impacted, El Meson will utilize dozens of its stores throughout the island, specially the ones on the west coast, as distribution centers for emergency supplies. More than 200,000 pounds of items like bottled water, canned food, baby formula and diapers, and medicines, will go straight to the hands of thousands in need. The supplies, which filled four maritime containers, were donated by Central Florida residents in various community drives, including one last weekend at El Meson Sandwiches’ Florida Mall location. El Meson will cover the transportation costs of the goods, expected to reach Puerto Rico by the end of the month.

“The people suffering Maria’s devastation are our employees, our customers and our family,” said Felipe Hamilcar Perez, who leads the Florida operations for the restaurant chain. “It doesn’t get any more personal than that. It is our responsibility to be an active part of the efforts to bring hope to them and to participate in any way we can in the rebuilding of the island.”

To broaden the reach of this initiative, El Meson Sandwiches joined efforts with iHeart Radio’s Activados por Puerto Rico, and with CASA of Central Florida, two community groups that are coordinating assistance, while also conducting emergency supply drives and fund raisers.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” said Tomas Javier Rivera, co-founder of Activados. “We understand that Puerto Rico faces a long and painful recovery. We’re determined to stay involved and assist with the different stages of the recovery for as long as needed with the help of corporate partners like El Meson.”

El Meson Sandwiches has three restaurants in Central Florida located at the Florida Mall dining pavilion in Orlando, Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee, and the Premium Outlets at Vineland also in Orlando. Two standalone stores with drive-thrus are scheduled to open early next year in Lee Vista Promenade, near the Orlando International Airport, and in the Gardens of Millennia, near The Mall at Millennia. With the completion of these two new stores, El Meson Sandwiches will have five restaurants in Central Florida by 2018.

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El Meson Sandwiches collect, transport and distribute emergency supplies for hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.

More than 200,000 pounds of items like bottled water, canned food, baby formula and diapers, and medicines, will go straight to the hands of thousands in need.

El Meson Sandwiches collect, transport and distribute emergency supplies for hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.

El Meson Sandwiches collect, transport and distribute emergency supplies for hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.

El Meson Sandwiches collect, transport and distribute emergency supplies for hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.

El Meson Sandwiches collect, transport and distribute emergency supplies for hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico

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Containers that departed from Orlando filled with items to help Puerto Rico were received by El Meson Sandwiches in Mayagüez.

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Donations reaches the communities of PUERTO RICO, thanks to volunteers and employees of El Meson Sandwiches.

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El Meson continues expansion plan in Florida

El Meson continues expansion plan in Florida

 

The president of El Mesón Sandwiches, Felipe Pérez, informed that he met up with Florida Governor Rick Scott, who supported the Puerto Rican restaurant chain’s expansion in the Sunshine State.

The meeting, requested by Scott himself, was effected in the restaurant with a drive-thru located in Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee. Government officials and the managerial team of El Mesón Sandwiches in Orlando convened for one hour and a half.

“Governor Scott praised and thanked our determination to select Florida as the first destination of our company’s expansion plan. He got to see our operations first-hand, and expressed his full support to El Mesón Sandwiches,” said Pérez in written declarations.

“I was surprised by how much Scott knows about our island and the fiscal and economic crises we are facing as a people,” added Pérez.

During his visit to the restaurant, Scott took the opportunity to enjoy a Whitehouse sandwich with sautéed mushrooms and iced tea.

El Mesón Sándwiches currently has three restaurants in central Florida. In June 2015, the company opened its first joint in Florida Mall’s Dining Pavilion. In June 2016 it opened its second restaurant with a drive-thru in Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee; and its third inaugurated September 2016 in Premium Outlets Vineland’s food court, in Orlando.

In 18 months, the chain will open two new restaurants with drive-thru windows: one of these will be located in Lee Vista Promenade, and another in The Gardens of Millenia, next to The Mall at Millenia. With these new installations, the Puerto Rican-owned company will have five U.S. establishments by 2018.

Meson Sandwiches Rapidly Becoming a Central Florida Favorite, Continues to Expand in the Region


Meson Sandwiches Rapidly Becoming a Central Florida Favorite, Continues to Expand in the Region

The company is opening its third Orlando area store this week with two more to come in 2017.

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Meson Sandwiches, a fast casual restaurant that marries the flavors of the Caribbean with an American staple, will open this week its third Central Florida location at the Premium Outlets Vineland, 8200 Vineland Ave., Orlando. Two other Meson restaurants are scheduled to open next year in Lee Vista Promenade and the Gardens on Millennia, also in the Metro Orlando area, for a total of five locations by the fall of 2017.”Now our Florida customers have more locations from which to get their favorite sandwiches, breakfast all day or a steamy cup of café con leche,” said Meson President, Felipe Perez Grajales. “There’s something for everyone in our menu.”The new restaurant will open on September 15, in the Premium Outlet Vineland’s food court. This is the second Meson in a food court in Orlando. The Osceola Parkway location and the stores that will open next year, are all free-standing buildings with spacious dining rooms and convenient drive-thrus.

 

 

“In these stores our customers are able to order breakfast platters made to order with fresh, cracked eggs, cooked any way they like through a convenient drive-thru window,” Perez said. “Going to the beach? Order your favorite sandwiches without leaving your car.”

In all of its locations Meson offers all-day breakfast, 100 percent Arabica coffee and an array of signature and specialty sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vegetarian options like salads, baked potatoes with a variety of toppings and vegetarian sandwiches are also available.

Based in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, El Meson is a family-owned company first established in 1972. It has 36 stores in the island and began its mainland expansion in the summer of 2015 with its first Orlando store at the Florida Mall. A second store opened earlier this year at the Osceola Parkway, in Kissimmee. Each Meson grosses $2 million on average and employs 40-50 people. The expansion to the Florida market means more jobs for The Sunshine State, while helping strengthen its economy through direct and indirect business activity.

“We’ve been welcomed with open arms into Central Florida,” Perez said. “The community has embraced our stores as an extension of their dining room, which we appreciate and value. Our guests are treated like family and the success we’ve had is because of them.”

Meson has received national and international accolades for its innovative menu. The recognitions include a Travel + Leisure Magazine’s designation in 2015 as one of the world’s top fast casual chains. Many of the sandwiches incorporate cabbage to add texture. Some of Meson’s loyal customers’ favorite items include the Turkey Sandwich, with 97 percent fat-free turkey and Swiss cheese, and the All-Pro, with Virginia ham, pastrami, sautéed onions and melted Swiss cheese. Veggie lovers will find The Surfer sandwich delightful, with soy-based salami, Swiss and American cheeses, pickles, peppers, onions, tomatoes and cabbage on slightly sweet criollo bread.  Other crowd’s favorites are the Medianoche, Cubano and Boricua Steak sandwiches, which hail to the restaurant’s Caribbean roots.