Del Taco Restaurants Inc., the second largest Mexican-American quick-service chain by units in the United States, announced the appointment of Jeff Little as senior vice president of development, effective immediately. In his new position, Little will lead the company’s development efforts and franchise sales.

This appointment comes as Del Taco continues to strategically expand their national presence and elevate the quick-service experience. “As we continue to invest in development with a focus on driving quality unit growth, we are excited to welcome Jeff to the Del Taco team,” says Paul J.B. Murphy III, president and CEO of Del Taco. “Given the substantial expansion opportunities for Del Taco in both established and emerging markets, having a seasoned veteran like Jeff in place will be critical to our long-term growth strategy and goal of achieving a mid-single-digit system-wide unit growth percentage in 2017 and an accelerated growth rate thereafter.”

“Del Taco is a strong brand that is poised to capitalize on national growth opportunities,” Little says. “I’m excited to partner my background and expertise with this proven team and extend the company’s leadership position in the [quick-service-plus] category.”

Little brings more than 20 years of development experience to Del Taco. Most recently, he served as vice president of development at El Pollo Loco, where he oversaw real estate, franchise sales, construction project management, and overall project design for the national brand. Prior to El Pollo Loco, Little worked at Yum! Brands for more than 20 years, most recently as national director of Taco Bell development where he directed real estate and construction of company development across the western U.S. Prior to that position, he served as national director of Yum! Brands construction.

Jeff holds a bachelor of arts degree in business economics from the University of California at Riverside and he, his wife, and two children live in Orange County.