Southpaw, a leading owner and operator, announced that it has acquired 35 Taco Bell restaurants across Northern Virginia and DC-Metro Maryland, significantly enhancing Southpaw’s presence in the high-growth Mid-Atlantic region and expanding Southpaw’s presence in the proven Taco Bell network. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2009, Southpaw owns and operates more than 135 quick-service restaurant locations in attractive markets across seven states. Their portfolio includes 70 high-volume Taco Bells in Kentucky and now, the Mid-Atlantic. Southpaw is an active acquirer of Taco Bells and will continue to grow its network through both acquisitions and new store development. The company intends to begin opening new restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic market as soon as 2022.

“Taco Bell is a world-class brand with a fiercely loyal customer base, and we are delighted to enter the dynamic, affluent Mid-Atlantic region,” says Judd Wishnow, co-founder of Southpaw. “This is a high-quality portfolio of Taco Bells, which have performed well and are led by a highly capable and experienced management team. Importantly, we are eager to continue to grow our footprint in the region.”

Wishnow adds, “At Southpaw, we take an employee-first approach. We have learned that by taking care of our people and building a sense of community, our people will then take care of us and our customers. It’s a virtuous cycle which has served us extremely well since our founding. As we have done across all markets for the past 12 years, we will invest significant resources into the well-being of our people and our business in the Mid-Atlantic.  We believe that by building a best-in-class culture, we will continue to attract the best talent in the industry—from senior leaders to the junior crew members in our stores.”