Business View - January 2015 73
dined in the restaurant, and they thought it was inter-
esting and a neat idea, and it made them want to take
it to a bigger level.”
As luck would have it, her brother, Andrew Vap, was
living in the Washington, D.C. area at the time and
looking for an opportunity to move back out west. The
parents went all-in and opened the first restaurant
in Missoula, then allowed Andrew to take the lead in
transforming the business to a franchised operation.
The first franchised location was opened nearly 1,200
miles away – in Omaha, Neb. – three years later, and
Andrew now serves as the overall operation’s chief ex-
ecutive.
Fifteen years after the initial meal was prepared, self-
assurance remains a primary ingredient, too.
The HuHot website describes the chain as “a bold, ex-
citing oasis in a desert of boring restaurant concepts.
Our branding efforts mirror Genghis Khan’s attitude
toward the world… ripe for conquest. Like Genghis
Khan viewed rival nations, we also look at our com-
petition with confident disdain. These themes are car-
ried throughout all our marketing and are included in
our in-store materials. Adults and kids alike find them-
selves caught up in the excitement with each visit.”
The restaurant name, incidentally, comes from the
word “Hohhot,” which is the capital city of Inner Mon-
golia. The original name in Missoula was “Mongo’s,”
but it was changed when the business began franchis-
ing because the leadership sought something it be-
lieved with resonate better nationally.
All but eight of the 54 restaurant locations are now
franchises, and O’Shea said the corporate apparatus
maintains an ownership stake in the other eight to both
provide a laboratory for potential new approaches and
concepts and to stay connected with the day-to-day is-
FRANCHISE
