LOWELL — Whether baked homemade or made with haste out of a cardboard box, chances are good you’ve consumed macaroni and cheese at some point in your lifetime.
When it comes to well-known American dishes, it doesn’t get much more common than mac and cheese.
But “common” isn’t the right word for Mr. Mac’s Macaroni and Cheese. The restaurant chain has three locations owned by 38-year-old Harry Cheema in Tyngsboro, Portsmouth, N.H., as well as the newly-opened Westford location.
A quick scan of the restaurant’s menu proves Mr. Mac’s offers much more than macaroni and cheese.
Yes, the baked gourmet macaroni and cheese restaurant includes a classic all-American option, made with Cabot cheddar and American cheeses. But Mr. Mac’s menu is dripping with choices to spice up — in some cases literally — the traditional mac and cheese dish.
For example, there’s the taco mac, pulled pork mac, cheeseburger and “deluxe” cheeseburger mac, and the blazin’ Buffalo mac. The menu has vegetarian options, including the garden veggie mac, and a dairy-free option called American chop suey.
As for those limited on their dining options due to Celiac disease or a wheat allergy, 95 percent of Mr. Mac’s entrees are gluten free.
In total, there’s 19 staple entrees currently on the menu, Cheema points out. However, the customer isn’t limited to that array of choices. Mr. Mac’s menu also offers the create-your-own option.
“You can pick a couple cheeses, take anything you want off our ingredients list and we’ll make it for you,” Cheema said.
Before entering the food-service world, Cheema — a married father of three — worked for the corporate side of the pharmacy mega-chain Walgreens. Raised by a father who owned a restaurant, Cheema decided he wanted to invest in a restaurant of his own.
In 2016, he came across Mr. Mac’s — a restaurant started up by a brother-sister team in Manchester, N.H. He loved the mac-and-cheese idea and later that year, Cheema’s first Mr. Mac’s location opened up in Portsmouth. His next restaurant opened its doors during 2017 in Tyngsboro, followed by his Westford location this past December.
Cheema said he isn’t done growing the brand. The Nashua resident’s goal is to have 10 Mr. Mac’s locations serving his delicious comfort food by 2025.
The menu also has the potential to grow.
For possible future menu ideas, Mr. Mac’s staff will test various mac-and-cheese recipes. If the experimental dish is popular among the workers, the mac-and-cheese creation is placed on the menu to get customer reactions. Popular choose-your-own recipes are also considered for the menu.
“I have a passion for food,” Cheema said. “Not just making it and eating it, but serving it. I have a sense of pride whenever someone else eats the food we’re serving, because I can see the joy they’re getting out of it.”
So, why did Cheema chose to invest in a macaroni and cheese restaurant?
“There’s a pizza place or a burger place on every corner,” Cheema said. “You don’t really hear about a macaroni and cheese restaurant. Once you tried it, you can see all the variations and amazing combinations you can do with macaroni and cheese.”
So far, business is good, Cheema said. He employs nearly 120 workers at his three locations. And it goes beyond tasty food and profits at Mr. Mac’s.
Cheema uses his restaurant as a way to get involved and to give back to the community.
Mr. Mac’s has raised money for organizations including the United Way, and held fundraisers to help out area schools. The restaurants have also provided cooking classes to Girl Scouts, and have even provided them shelter from unpleasant weather conditions while selling their cookies.
“It’s about more than just running a business,” Cheema said. “We want to be able to give back in some way, and there’s so many ways to give back.”
To check out Mr. Mac’s menu, order online or to find restaurant locations near you, visit mr-macs.com.
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis
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