QDOBA Mexican Eats (QDOBA) announced today that it has signed a multi-unit franchise development agreement with franchisee Karan Gogri to develop 10 restaurants in San Jose and five locations in San Diego. The first location is slated to open in 2021. Gogri is pursuing sites in attractive communities and towns across the San Diego and San Jose metro areas.
“I’ve had my eye on QDOBA for years and it’s always been a dream of mine to franchise with the brand,” says Gogri. “With QDOBA’s handling of the pandemic and the incredible support provided to franchisees, in addition to the new restaurants formats that they’ve introduced, I knew it was the perfect time to franchise with them. I’m looking forward to opening my first restaurant in the months ahead!”
Gogri has significant experience in the franchise and restaurant space. He is a multi-brand franchisee with an agreement in place to develop a full-service dining concept in San Diego and the Bay Area as well. Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, Gogri’s parents are multi-unit and multi-brand franchisees with a portfolio that includes leading quick-service and pizza brands. His deep experience in franchising and restaurant operations make him a natural fit for QDOBA.
“The nation’s top franchise groups are taking notice of QDOBA in a very serious way. We’ve built a model that truly checks the boxes for franchisees, including high AUVs, flexible footprints, national brand awareness and great ROI,” says Vice President of Franchise Development Peter Ortiz. “Karan is exactly the type of franchisee we’re looking to work with as we ramp up our multi-unit franchise expansion efforts. We seek extensive restaurant and operational experience and the desire to grow with our winning concept.”
In October, QDOBA unveiled new restaurant footprints built to fuel the 730-unit brand’s multi-unit growth in the years ahead. Many of the concepts are designed to grow off-premise sales, including ghost kitchen formats and smaller takeout footprints as low as 1,000 square feet designed with high-rent urban areas in mind. Notably, restaurants with drive-thrus can enter spaces as low as 1,200 square feet.
As QDOBA continues to expand throughout the U.S., it is actively seeking qualified multi-unit and multi-segment groups with experience in development strategy and focused on diversifying with a bold concept.
