San Diego — Jack in the Box Inc. signed 123 new restaurant commitments during its 2023 fiscal year. The brand also announced the signing of 138 new restaurant commitments for Del Taco. The news comes as the company announced its Q4 and fiscal year 2023 financial results.
During 2023, Jack in the Box also entered four new states: Arkansas, Florida, Montana and Wyoming. The brand also signed a 22-unit commitment to enter Mexico. In mid-2023, Jack in the Box set a record for a restaurant opening in a new market, surpassing the previous revenue mark by 66% with its first opening in Salt Lake City. The brand continued its growth into whitespace territory with its first opening in Kentucky and announced the signing of a six-unit commitment in the Louisville market with a 55-year veteran Jack in the Box franchise group.
“The response in new markets, for both brands, has continued to exceed our expectations,” says Tim Linderman, chief development officer. “We have developed a strong playbook for how to best open and sustain new market entry, and franchisees interested in partnering with our iconic brands have recognized the potential for whitespace growth and backfilling our current markets. We’ve been on an incredible roll since our development program started in 2021, and our 2023 results demonstrated that our momentum has continued.”
The new Salt Lake City locations, along with the new opening in Louisville, feature the brand’s innovative CRAVED image, which includes a new restaurant image package with bold colors and signage. Future development plans in each of these markets include use of the CRAVED image. All four Salt Lake City and Louisville restaurants in these opened throughout 2023 have averaged over $100,000 in weekly sales per restaurant.
“New markets are certainly a focus, but the outperformance of all new restaurants we saw in 2023, including those opened in current territories, is key to our overall growth potential,” says Linderman.
Del Taco also signed 138 new commitments in FY 2023. New market entries include Texas, Montana and Wyoming, along with 52 additional commitments in Florida. Del Taco expanded into whitespace territory with its first opening in Mississippi and showcased the first drive-thru only Fresh Flex restaurant design in Albuquerque, N.M. The Fresh Flex design offers a modern, sleek look.
Jack in the Box Inc., founded and headquartered in San Diego, is a restaurant company that operates and franchises Jack in the Box®, one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains with approximately 2,200 restaurants across 22 states, and Del Taco®, the second largest Mexican-American QSR chain by units in the U.S. with approximately 600 restaurants across 16 states. For more information, visit www.jackintheboxfranchising.com and www.deltacofranchise.com.
SOURCE: Jack in the Box Inc.