Franchising

Qdoba plans rapid expansion

Provided by Qdoba

August 9, 2023

San Diego-based Qdoba, which has 750 restaurants in 45 states, is planning for rapid expansion. The privately-held company expects to double in size over the next decade, opening 40 restaurants this year, followed by 60 in 2024, and over 80 annually beginning in 2025.

"Qdoba is an exceptionally well-positioned brand in one of the most attractive restaurant categories," John Cywinski, CEO of Modern Restaurant Concepts, Qdoba's parent company, said in a company press release. We possess long-standing momentum, strong unit economics, a compelling operating model, an extraordinarily passionate guest following, and significant untapped geographic potential."

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 building 73 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," North Fork co-Owner Jacob Stauffer said in the release. "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 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," Cywinski said. "Once our pipeline is fully established, we expect to sustain a 10% annual growth rate through new restaurant development."

Qdoba has posted 10 consecutive quarters of positive comp-sales growth with average unit volumes of $1.6 million.