Franchisees plan 5 Huey Magoo’s restaurants in Springfield area

Huey Magoo's, a chicken tenders restaurant chain based in Florida, is coming to the Springfield area by way of local franchisees.

James and Lisa Tillman have two locations on tap for this year, said Lisa Tillman.

"We will be the first Huey Magoo's in Missouri, and we are very excited," she said via email.

A Huey Magoo's at 3352 E. Sunshine St. is targeted for an April opening, Tillman said.

The Sunshine Street restaurant is coming to a 2,900-square-foot building developed by Tillman Investments LLC, according to a Murney Associates, Realtors real estate listing and Greene County assessor records. The site previously housed a Kum & Go convenience store, across from a Waffle House near U.S. Highway 65.

The couple's second restaurant, at 5402 N. 23rd St. in Ozark, is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter, Tillman said. It's replacing a former car wash, according to a Facebook post from project architect Ireland Architects Inc.

Locations have not been identified for the other three planned Huey Magoo's in the Springfield area, she said.

The Sunshine Street eatery is located nearby one of developer James Tillman's First Watch franchises at 3101 E. Sunshine St. His first opened in 2017 at 2946 S. National Ave., according to past reporting.

"James brought the First Watch franchise to the Springfield area and believes that this is another high-quality food establishment," Lisa Tillman said of Huey Magoo's.

Huey Magoo's, which uses the marketing tagline "filet mignon of chicken," has a menu that includes chicken tenders, sandwiches, wraps and salads, according to its website.

The Huey Magoo's franchise fee is $35,000, with royalty fees of 5% and marketing fees of 2%, according to its website.