San Diego — On the heels of a record-breaking year of growth and franchise development, QDOBA, America’s rapidly growing #2 restaurant brand in the Mexican fast-casual category, has signed one of the largest development deals in brand history. Barry Dubin of B Wild Investments, LLC has signed on to develop 50 new QDOBA restaurants across the states of Alaska, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico. Initially, Dubin plans to focus on locations in Salt Lake City, St. George, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and areas surrounding Colorado Springs.
Additionally, B Wild Investments LLC has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire one of QDOBA’s largest franchisees with a closing anticipated during fourth quarter 2025.
“I’ve known Barry for 15 years, since I was president of KFC, where he was my largest franchise partner,” says John Cywinski, CEO of QDOBA. “Barry is an exceptional leader, strategist and operator, and I’m absolutely thrilled he is joining the QDOBA brand.”
The announcement comes amid a period of rapid growth for QDOBA with nearly 20 new franchisees signed in the past 12 months. Recent signings include Pittsburgh; Dallas-Fort Worth; Waco, Texas; and several Ohio DMAs — all of which are now sold-out priority markets.
“As we look to fiscal year 2026, QDOBA continues to build impressive momentum,” says Jeremy Vitaro, chief development officer at QDOBA. “As one of the fastest growing brands in the industry, it’s no surprise we continue to attract some of the best franchise partners from QSR and casual dining. With strong operators like Barry joining our system and a powerful brand in the most attractive category in the restaurant industry, QDOBA is well-positioned for sustained growth and long term franchise success as we aim to double our footprint by 2032.”
QDOBA now has more than 600 future restaurants in its development pipeline. The company is actively pursuing growth throughout Florida, as well as in Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.
QDOBA is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant with over 800 locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and South Korea.
QDOBA is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant with over 800 locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and South Korea. QDOBA currently operates in 45 states and its expansion targets both traditional restaurants as well as non-traditional locations, including airports, universities and military bases. For more information, visit www.qdobafranchise.com.
B Wild is the private investment office of Barry W. Dubin. The firm is exclusively focused on acquiring and building exceptional multi-unit consumer businesses. For more information, visit www.bwildinvestments.com.
SOURCE: QDOBA