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Brooklyn Dumpling Shop Gets Investment From 'Shark Tank' Stars, Takes Brand Public in Canada

• Emilee Wentland

Nov 7, 2023 Updated Nov 10, 2023

Following significant investments, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is poised for growth in the United States and Canada.

“Shark Tank” stars Kevin O’Leary and Matt Higgins recently invested in Brooklyn Dumpling Shop to grow the brand beyond its eight restaurants. Brooklyn Dumpling Shop founder Stratis Morfogen called the investment “the missing link.”

The dumpling franchise is known for its unique dumpling flavors, such as mac and cheese, reuben and Korean barbecue.

“None of those items have ever been introduced to the market,” Morfogen said. “We’re disrupting a lot of parts of the

fast-casual, QSR market. To do that, it takes capital and marketing because you’re educating the customer.” Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is a smartphone-powered, automat-format shop that requires a small footprint and just three employees. Guests can order their dumplings through their phone and collect them from the hot or cold lockers inside the restaurant.

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop Signs Deal to Open 100 Stores in Canada

JUN 14 2023 News

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Prolific NYC Restauranteur Stratis Morfogen’s Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is at it again, this time partnering with Sitewise Solutions Inc. for a master franchise deal to bring 100 Brooklyn Dumpling Shop franchise locations to Canada. So far, the team at Sitewise Solutions Inc. is already in the works to build out their first 4 corporate locations, as well as a dedicated Canadian factory set to open in 2024 to supply Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s world- famous dumplings to the new franchises opening across Canada, this will give Sitewise Solutions Inc. full control of the Brooklyn Dumpling

Shop supply chain in Canada from the factory to the shops.

This new deal follows the success Morfogen has established in the United States with Brooklyn Dumpling Shop with its first of its kind smartphone- controlled automat which gives consumers full control of their ordering experiences when ordering Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s twists on traditional dumpling flavors, like Bacon Cheeseburger, PB&J, Mac & Cheese, their fully customizable Brooklyn Chop Chop Bowls, or their self-pour draft beer, all of which is delivered in a first of its kind contactless smartphone driven grab and go system. There’s already excitement from the likes

of Rachael Ray, who stated “OMG” (The Pastrami Dumpling), and Gayle King who said, “My last meal on earth would be the Bacon Cheeseburger Dumpling at Brooklyn Dumpling Shop.”

When asked about the partnership, founder Stratis Morfogen says “It’s an honor to partner with Sitewise Solutions Inc. Giving them the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop keys to Canada is one of the highest points of my 35-year career and I’m so excited to see how big we grow together.” Similarly, when asked about partnering with Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, Lee-Ann Tero, Director of Operations of Sitewise Solutions Inc said “We are over the moon to partner with Stratis & his team to bring Brooklyn Dumpling Shop to Canada. This partnership marks the beginning of an exciting journey, and we cannot wait to embark on this delicious adventure together.”

Outside of its one-of-a-kind dumplings, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, has seen a great response from their Automat contactless smartphone ordering system, a point of interest for a post-pandemic friendly world. The fully automated restaurant conceptualized by Brooklyn Chop House has brought the Automat of yesteryear into the present with advanced Autoflow technology made for today and Zero Human Interaction (ZHI) throughout the entire grab-and-go. In addition, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s state-of-the-art food locker technology provides guests with an easy, safe option to pick

up orders from temperature-controlled lockers at peak freshness, allowing consumers to get the dumpling and bowls they come to love at Brooklyn Chop House, in an affordable and fast casual setting. “The Automat was single-handedly the greatest fast food distribution equipment ever designed.

The technology we’ve brought to Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is unlike anything that has been seen before. It has allowed us to create an Autoflow from a customers’ smartphone to our touchless ordering kiosks, right to our lockers to bring quick-serve restaurants into the 21st century,”
said Brooklyn Dumpling Shop founder Stratis Morfogen. “The Pandemic delayed Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s opening by a year, but this was a concept I came up with in 2018. This dream has become a reality and has kept us in great success throughout this Covid period.” This one-of-a-kind quick-service has a Dumpling Lab in the front window with the restaurant’s dumpling-making machines for all to see. Guests can place an order on their phone or via one of the restaurant’s Touchless self-ordering kiosks.

When a guest’s order is ready, the customer will receive a text notification to get their special delivery from a marked, temperature-controlled locker; it will open automatically once the customer scans their barcode. Lockers storing hot food will be red-lit, indicating it’s 145 degrees; chilled lockers will be blue-lit and 38 degrees. Auburn-lit lockers will disclose one’s at room temperature.

This provides a Zero Human Interaction experience from start to finish. Recipes for these new flavors of dumplings can be found in Morfogen’s first book “Damn Good Dumplings, you can also learn more about Stratis’ history as a restauranter from his latest book “Be A Disruptor”, both of which are available at major bookstores nationwide.

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop also offers a line of mail-order product

Zero-Contact Foodservice Concept ‘Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’ Entering Canada with Plans for Over 100 Locations

By Shelby Hautala

Date: August 27, 2023

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, an innovative zero contact dumpling shop, is arriving in Canada this upcoming October and has plans to expand throughout the country with over 100 locations.

The Brooklyn Dumpling Shop will be a new concept in Canada and offers a zero contact experience. The restaurant offers traditional dumplings along with specialty dumplings such as mac and cheese and pepperoni pizza. Consumers can also find vegan and gluten free options, breakfast dumplings such as bacon and cheese, and dessert dumplings.

The specialty dumplings started at the restaurant Brooklyn Chop House and since then has seen success.

“The dumplings became so big at Brooklyn Chop House that I simultaneously wrote a book called Damn Good Dumplings and then from there, we came up with the idea of doing a fast casual version of it – and that is where Brooklyn Dumpling Shop was born,” says Stratis Morfogen, the founder and CEO of Brooklyn Dumpling Shop and

Brooklyn Chop House. “The dumplings became a huge hit. I took mac and cheese, pastrami, bacon, cheeseburger, lamb, peanut butter and jelly – and I made them into dumplings.”

Currently, Brooklyn Dumplings have five locations opened in New York City and five under construction. By the end of September, the restaurant will have twelve locations and by the end of the year will have twenty – including the locations planned for Canada. To expand in Canada, Morfogen said he was approached by and has partnered with Sitewise Solutions Inc.

“We gave the rights to the group and they are now the franchise oil for Canada. After experiencing the concept in New

York, they wanted to bring it to Canada. Their plans already include opening 108 Brooklyn Dumpling Shops in the next ten years.”

The first three locations in Canada will be in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. As for exact locations, Morfogen was only able to clarify Calgary.

The Calgary location will be at 1113-9th Avenue SW. The construction for the restaurant has already begun and will be opening up its doors for October 2nd. As for the locations in Vancouver and Edmonton which will be opening by the end of the year, leases have been signed but they are waiting for official leases to be completed.

“The whole country is going to be scaled. First starting in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver and then the group will make its way throughout Canada. The contract allows them for 110 units, and they have ten years to build them.”

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop inks first international franchise agreement

The brand is on track to reach its target growth trajectory of 250 units in development within the next two years
Amanda Peters | Dec 02, 2022

Solidifying its status as one of the nation’s fastest-growing dumpling automat franchises, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop has signed an international multi- unit deal to bring the popular concept to Vancouver, Canada.

At the helm of the brand’s first international agreement is franchisee Grace Lovret, a native New Yorker who brings a diverse background in management, accounting, investments, and entertainment production to Brooklyn Dumpling Shop.

“After experiencing the amazing food, I invited Stratis (founder) to be a guest on my podcast on iHeart Radio. Hearing Stratis talk about this incredibly innovative concept and his plans to expand to more markets nationally and internationally, I knew it was an opportunity I could not pass up,” said Grace. “It’s an exciting time for Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, and I am looking forward to being part of the brand’s international growth story and bringing the brand into one of my favorite places, Vancouver.”

In partnership with franchise development company, Fransmart, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is rapidly expanding its national footprint with more than 80 units in development and plans for even more international growth throughout Canada and beyond. The brand is on track to reach its target growth trajectory of 250 units in development within the next two years.

“This will no doubt be the first of many international deals for the brand and we look forward to closing more deals to bring Brooklyn Dumpling Shop to even more Canadian territories,” said CEO and founder Stratis Morfogen. “Grace’s strong business background makes her a perfect partner for our first venture outside the United States.”

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop to open first BC location in Burnaby next year

Sep 12 2023, 5:10 pm

It’s official: Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, aka a dumpling automat franchise, is coming to Metro Vancouver.

Founded in 2021 by NYC restaurateur Stratis Morfogen, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop offers 32 unique flavours of dumplings 24 hours a day via a contactless ordering system.

This means customers can get food from state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled food lockers anytime they want – it’s like a vending machine, but for dumplings.

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, which has plans to have 250 units in development within the next two years, has shared big plans for franchises across Canada, including in Calgary and right here in Vancouver.

The first BC location will be located in a new mall being constructed called Gilmore Place in Burnaby, we’re told. Located at 4190 Lougheed Highway, this destination will likely open sometime in Summer 2024.

Other locations in BC are “aggressively being shopped,” Dished is told.