Ford’s Garage has quietly been one of the fastest-growing full-service chains in the country, going from one restaurant in 2012 to 34 today.
And with six more locations slated for 2026 and 10 each over the next few years, the car-centric “quality-casual” brand says it’s just getting started.
Tampa-based Ford’s Garage has a unique history. It was founded in 2012 in Fort Myers, Florida, near the winter home of Henry Ford. It was one of several concepts created by restaurateurs Mike McGuigan and Daniel Kearns that pay homage to historical figures who frequented Fort Myers, such as Al Capone and tire magnate Harvey Firestone.
Initially, Ford’s had no formal affiliation with Ford Motor Co. But the automaker, looking for opportunities to grow its brand, was curious about the burger and beer concept that bore its name. In 2014, John Nens, then the company’s director of global brand licensing, asked his friend, BD’s Mongolian Grill founder Billy Downs, to go down to Florida and check it out.
Downs thought Ford’s was great, and that year, Ford signed a licensing deal with Ford’s that allows the restaurant to use its logo. Downs also became a franchisee of the brand and opened its first Michigan location, across the street from Ford’s world headquarters in Dearborn. In 2024, he was named president of the company.
Ford’s is a sort of oasis for old-school car lovers. Each restaurant is decked out like a 1920s service station, complete with vintage gas pumps and a real Model A or T looming behind the bar. Employees wear retro service station uniforms, and the menu features items like Roadsters (⅓-pound burgers), Piston Onion Rings and Cheese Curbs.
The Ford stamp of approval gives the brand a sense of authenticity and familiarity. Ford’s Garage may be small, but everyone knows Ford.
“Almost everywhere we go, we will get hit hard when we open because of that blue oval and Ford logo that’s on our buildings,” Downs said in an interview.
Ford’s does especially well in markets with Ford motor plants. It’s also seeing interest from Ford dealers who want to put a location on or near their lots. And its restaurants have become gathering spots for local car clubs of all kinds, not just Ford owners.
Each location has a real Ford behind the bar.
But Ford’s is more than just a burger joint with a car theme.
“It’s unique. It’s special. But it’s not like eatertainment,” said Downs. “It is experiential, and the experience is really trying to be great at the basics of hospitality.”
The formula has worked well for Ford’s, which has grown sales in each year of its existence besides 2020 and generates an average of nearly $5.8 million per restaurant, per Technomic data. Last year, Ford’s sales and traffic were both positive, Downs said, a rare feat in a challenging environment for restaurants.
And though the brand has a retro vibe and a core audience of baby boomers, it is also working to keep up with modern consumers and dining habits. It recently expanded its menu to include some healthier options (dubbed Fuel-Efficient Fare), such as bowls, salmon and grilled chicken. It added a value menu featuring bundled meals from $10 to $20, available Monday through Friday until 6 p.m.
It also plans to start updating some of the vehicles in its restaurants.
“Our consumer really does dig some of the muscle cars that you’d see in the ’60s and ’70s, Mustangs and such,” Downs said. The Bronco is also popular. “When we can do events, we’re gonna showcase more of those Broncos off.”
Ford’s is also working to tap into the growing audience for auto racing, and particularly the Formula 1 series, as Ford prepares to re-enter F1 this year for the first time since 2004 with the Red Bull team.
A Ford's Garage in Orlando.
Ford’s grew steadily for years, with one or two openings each year up until 2020. After a pause during the pandemic, it picked up the pace, more than doubling its footprint since 2021, when it had 15 locations.
As it grows, it plans to stay within the Eastern and Central timezones, and specifically around the I-75 and I-95 corridors that extend from Michigan and the Northeast down to Florida. That area covers a large population and a large part of Ford Motor Co.’s historical footprint, and allows Ford’s Garage to keep its support team and resources concentrated, Downs said. It also leverages Ford’s existing brand awareness in Florida, where the bulk of its restaurants are located.
It also has locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Texas and Virginia.
Ford’s today operates with just four franchise groups, but that number is set to double over the next four years as it accelerates into new markets, including Iowa, Tennessee and New Jersey.
“Probably our biggest challenge is onboarding these new franchise groups and making sure that they’re successful,” Downs said, noting that Ford’s is building a support team to help train the new franchisees.
The franchisor today is debt-free, as are most of its operators, Downs said. It wants to make sure its restaurants continue to be well-run and profitable, and so will maintain a methodical pace. Still, both Ford’s and Ford believe there’s room for “a couple hundred” Garages in the U.S. eventually.
“Certainly we see that this thing has legs,” Downs said. “I’ve been around, golly gee, 14 years now, and I think we’re just getting to the point where we’re ready to go.”