QCarolina Restaurants LLC, led by former Bojangles’ CEO Joe Drury, bought 16 Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants in North Carolina and 2 in Tennessee.
“Our group is excited about the Qdoba brand as we have been watching it closely the past few years,” says Tom Lewison, President and CEO of QCarolina.
“We are dedicated to making Qdoba the best restaurant in the fast-casual Mexican food category by offering a great menu in a casual and affordable dining environment,” Lewison says.
QCarolina Restaurant ownership group is made up of Tom Lewison, Joe Drury, Bill Branstrom, and Keith Stoneman. This local, veteran restaurant team has more than 100 years of restaurant management and development experience. Drury served as Chairman and CEO of fast-growing Bojangles’ from 2001 until 2006. Tom Lewison also served as Bojangles’ President and COO.
The acquisition makes QCarolina Restaurants one of the top 5 largest Qdoba franchisees in the Qdoba chain. “Tom Lewison and his team bring an abundance of restaurant knowledge and years of successful operations to the table,” says Richard Pugh, COO of Qdoba.
QCarolina Restaurants will initially concentrate on upgrading facilities and operations in their 18 existing locations. The group also has an aggressive plan to open 5 new restaurants per year throughout its territory of North Carolina and Tennessee.