QSR International, the master franchisee of Smashburger in Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of South America, has entered into a development agreement with Corporacion Hamburgo S.A. de C.V. to develop three Smashburger restaurants in El Salvador. QSR International has also entered into a development agreement with Carlos Eduardo Lopez to develop 15 Smashburger restaurants in Venezuela. Following a successful market launch in Costa Rica in November 2012 and the signing of a five-unit development agreement in Panama earlier this year, El Salvador and Venezuela will mark the third and fourth countries to open Smashburger restaurants in the Latin American marketplace.

For El Salvador, the development schedule calls for three restaurants to be opened during the next four years. QSR International and Corporación Hamburgo S.A. de C.V. are evaluating a site in the capital of San Salvador for their first Smashburger location.

As successful restaurant operators of their own three food concepts with eight operating locations, Corporacion Hamburgo S.A. de C.V. has the knowledge to develop and operate the Smashburger brand. In a very short time, they have become one of El Salvador’s competitors in the fast-casual restaurant segment.

For Venezuela, the development commitment calls for 15 restaurants to be opened over the next six years.  Lopez will be opening the first two Smashburger restaurants in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city.

Lopez has opened over 100 internationally franchised restaurants in Venezuela and is the operating partner of the Quiznos Sub franchise in Venezuela, which recently opened its eighteenth restaurant.

“Mr. Lopez has unparalleled experience in the fast-food and fast-casual segments in Venezuela. This undoubtedly will bring Smashburger to its full potential,” says Pablo Fernandez, director of development for QSR International.

“For Smashburger, we’re focusing on candidates who have a clear understanding of the fast-casual restaurant business. Our ideal franchise candidate for Smashburger is someone who already is a successful franchisee of another restaurant brand; someone who can leverage their existing operational infrastructure and expertise to grow their restaurant portfolio with a new up-and-coming concept,” Fernandez says.

“We are very excited to grant development rights to such proven restaurant developers and operators like Corporación Hamburgo S.A. de C.V and Mr. Carlos Lopez,” says Richard Eisenberg, president of QSR International. “These development agreements continue to position Smashburger as the leader in the better burger category in our region.”