QDOBA, America’s #2 fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand, is planning for rapid expansion. With 750 restaurants in 45 states, the privately held company expects to double in size over the next decade, with plans to open 40 new restaurants this year, followed by 60 in 2024, and 80+ annually beginning in 2025.
“QDOBA is an exceptionally well positioned brand in one of the most attractive restaurant categories. We possess long-standing momentum, strong unit economics, a compelling operating model, an extraordinarily passionate guest following, and significant untapped geographic potential,” says John Cywinski, CEO of Modern Restaurant Concepts, QDOBA’s parent company.
In keeping with its selective refranchising strategy, QDOBA recently sold 77 company-owned restaurants to existing franchisee, North Fork Fresh Mex, which now operates 97 QDOBA restaurants in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. North Fork has also committed to build 73 new restaurants over the next seven years and is now QDOBA’s largest franchise partner.
“Without a doubt, this agreement with QDOBA provides us a tremendous opportunity to not only further expand our business but also benefit team members throughout our organization,” states North Fork Co-Owner Jacob Stauffer. “We’ve seen great success since aligning with QDOBA years ago and know the brand provides a distinct business advantage as we tackle important yet underserved markets in the months ahead.”
QDOBA is currently 80% franchised with 85 franchise partners in the U.S.
“We are in the process of aggressively accelerating new restaurant development in partnership with existing and new franchisees. Once our pipeline is fully established, we expect to sustain a 10% annual growth rate through new restaurant development,” Cywinski adds.
QDOBA has now posted 10 consecutive quarters of positive comp sales growth, with average unit volumes of $1.6MM. In addition, for the fifth consecutive year, QDOBA has been voted the “Best Fast Casual Restaurant” as part of the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
