HuHot Mongolian Grill
HuHot Mongolian Grill is an American restaurant chain specializing in a create-your-own stir fry cuisine with its headquarters in Missoula, Montana. As of March 2017, there are over 70 HuHot Mongolian Grills in 18 states, with the vast majority located in the Midwest and Mountain West states.
Name
The first HuHot, then called Mongo's, was built in Missoula, Montana in 1999 by the Vap family. However, when the company decided to franchise, they found that name was already trademarked. They chose the name HuHot, from Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.History
Due to the Vap's family's experience as Godfather's Pizza franchisees, they were familiar with franchising and knew a fellow restaurateur based in the Midwest who was interested in the concept. From there, it grew by word-of-mouth. Linda Vap, the president and founder of the company, was a career scientist before starting the business.The first franchised HuHot was built in Omaha, Nebraska in 2002. As of 2022, there are nearly 60 locations of the restaurant across 17 states.