For its grand opening on June 14, Roni's Mac Bar - a mac and cheese bar with customizable toppings and grilled cheese - officially opened its Auburn location to the public. Located at 138 North College Street, Roni's Mac Bar is the newest food spot in downtown Auburn.
Founded in February 2022, Roni's Mac Bar was first imagined when CEO Frank Senese noticed a vacant spot next door to another business of his and pondered on what he wanted it to be. Knowing he wanted a restaurant, a friend of his mentioned someone who sold mac and cheese at their restaurant. Although Senese misinterpreted it as a mac and cheese restaurant, he thought the idea was great.
After using a bracket with around 20 different names, Roni's secured the most votes.
"We've had a philosophy of familiar with a twist. We wanted something people know," Senese said.
While Senese agreed Roni's mac and cheese itself is set apart from competing businesses, the emphasis on customization and the quality of the toppings seals the deal.
"Our mission is to encourage customizability and help people think outside the box," Senese said.
For new possible menu additions, Roni's staff is currently testing a bread bowl and they hope to introduce that option soon.
Something that people would not guess as outsiders looking in on this business, Senese shared, is how simple it is.
"You go to a lot of other restaurants and they have five or 10 people on staff that are back there and we usually only need two people to handle the same amount of sales. How simple it is on the back, allows us to focus more on the product coming out," Senese said.
In addition to quality food, Roni's Mac Bar offers a vibrant atmosphere, apparent through several viral videos of the locations.
"The part that makes it fun is the atmosphere. You come in here, and it's a fun, vibrant place," Senese said. "A lot of stuff you see is stuff we throw on our social media. A lot of people see our viral videos and we try to help recreate that experience of the fun that you see in our videos. You get what you see."
Katelyn Fair, Auburn location owner and general manager, reached out to Roni's after seeing a video on social media and encouraged them to come to Auburn.
Roni's Mac Bar CEO Frank Senese and Auburn franchisee Katelyn Fair pose for a photo.
"We started looking into the demographics. I mean, college kids are bread and butter, and it's a good comfort food to fit everyone in that age range," Senese said. "It all comes down to if we like the place and the franchisee, and Katelyn blew us away."
Fair shared what she is most looking forward to on the day of the grand opening.
"Well, one, I'm excited about the whole day, because there's going to be music, balloons and a lot of small town vendors in the area," Fair said. "But two, I love watching people eat, and their faces get so excited. It makes me feel good, because I love to make people smile."
Fair expressed that pineapple is her favorite Roni's mac and cheese topping and that the seasonal Alfredo is her "holy grail." Senese's favorite mac and cheese toppings include gouda cheese, pineapples, barbecue sauce, corn and brisket.
With intentions to open more Roni's locations in Alabama, Fair and Senese explained that they will aim for locations near colleges and universities.
Grace Whitton, assistant manager at the Waco, Texas location, was personally involved in the preparation for the Auburn grand opening.
"I really love it here, and everyone on staff is so willing and eager to learn, and that's what makes me happy to show up and teach them," Whitton said.
Whitton shared that she fluctuates between two orders: the cheddar chicken mac and cheese with parmesan and bread crumbs or the grilled cheese with cheddar mac and cheese, brisket and barbecue sauce.
When discussing the innovation side of the business, Senese explained that Roni's menu involves frequent brainstorming and testing.
"Our franchisees and employees come up with so many weird combinations that half the time we're like, we need to put that on the menu, and we do," Senese said. "We try from an internal point to let everyone let their creativity shine, and whatever seems like people want to buy, that goes on the menu."
In five years, Senese hopes that Roni's Mac Bar will be operating 250 store locations and in 10 years, he hopes that number is 1,000. Internally, he expects the brand to stay unified, while his external focus is on the customers and expanding the drive thru locations to prioritize speed of service.
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