Tuesday, June 24, 2025
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QDOBA Mexican Eats

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QDOBA Opened 34 New Locations in 2022

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats (QDOBA), the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, is coming out of a development banner year after differentiating itself with flexible footprint options that allow the brand to work well in a variety of traditional and non-traditional venues. The brand also added 34 new QDOBA locations in 2022. Among the 34 locations, 16 were franchise, 16 were license and two were corporate openings. The license locations included seven military locations, two airport locations, a premium outlet location as well as the brand’s …

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QDOBA Adds 3 Seasoned Executives to Development Team

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats® (QDOBA), the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has added three industry leaders to its development team. Joining the leading concept is Lori Osley as vice president of franchise development, Kyle Brown as director of design and architecture, and Anthony Friel as project manager. The group of trade veterans will spearhead continued growth efforts by offering extended support to new and existing franchisees. Osley is joining QDOBA with substantial development experience through her work with Sonic Drive-In’s as the senior director of …

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QDOBA Signs Largest Franchise Deal in Brand History

by Katie Lee

West Palm Beach, Fla. — QDOBA Mexican Eats® (QDOBA), the largest franchise opportunity within the fast-casual Mexican segment, has signed a multi-unit franchise development agreement to bring 30 locations to North Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in southern Florida over the next 10 years. At the helm of the brand’s largest deal is Michael Guiffre, who has over two decades of leadership experience within the construction industry overseeing organization structure, customer relations and development. Guiffre’s first venture into restaurant operations was with Dunkin’, where he was the operating partner …

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QDOBA Hires Vice President of Franchise Development

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has hired franchising veteran Shawn Caric as vice president of franchise development. In his new role, Caric will be directing the 740-unit brand’s strategic franchise expansion across key markets in the United States and Canada. Caric most recently served as the director of development for the Midwest region at Dunkin Brands, leading real estate signings and site approval for 11 states. Over the years, Caric has developed a strong record for successfully leading dynamic teams …

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SMG Partners with QDOBA to Manage Customer Experiences

by Katie Lee

Kansas City, Mo. — Service Management Group (SMG), a global customer, patient and employee experience management partner to more than 500 brands, has launched a new customer experience management program with QDOBA Mexican Eats. The Mexican fast-casual chain is working with SMG to drive program adoption, increase guest satisfaction and advance its customer experience strategy. QDOBA has launched the SMG customer experience management program to capture guest feedback and uncover customer insights across its nearly 750 locations. With feedback from across the customer journey available in the smg360® platform, QDOBA …

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QDOBA Mexican Eats Opens 400th Franchise Location

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats® (QDOBA), the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has opened its 400th franchise location (pictured). The landmark opening underscores the brand’s dynamic development strategy to expand to 2,000 units. QDOBA’s growth will be fueled by blending a mix of current franchisees expanding their portfolios, new franchisee acquisition and corporate development. QDOBA’s 400th franchise restaurant had its grand opening on Jan. 19 in Brighton, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. The modernized QDOBA features several of the brand’s recent innovations, including a new drive-thru …

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Plans in Motion

by Katie Lee

— Interview with Tim Welsh, Chief Development Officer — QDOBA was already making key changes prior to the pandemic.   With a variety of smaller floor plans and a revamped digital suite already in the works pre-COVID, QDOBA Mexican Eats was on the right track — little did it know — to have the best possible chance to weather a global pandemic. Today, the Mexican fast-casual franchise continues with plans to open 30 new restaurants before year end and to have 1,000 open restaurants within the next 5 years. With …

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QDOBA Mexican Eats Accelerates Expansion in Non-Traditional Venues

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats®, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, continues to grow its non-traditional footprint across universities, airports and other venues. Since August, the brand has opened eight locations on college campuses across the country — including University of Cincinnati, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Purdue University, University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, ASU Polytechnic, North Carolina A&T University, Kentucky State University and Northern Illinois University. An additional two non-traditional locations are slated to open by the end of the year. This year’s non-traditional openings add to a collection …

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QDOBA Mexican Eats Unveils New Floorplans and Restaurant Concepts, Designed for Growth

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats®, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has introduced new restaurant formats that set the stage for continued growth. QDOBA’s new concepts feature buildouts including mobile-order drive-thrus, walk-up windows, mobile-order pickup lockers, dedicated curbside pickup areas, ghost kitchens and concepts with updated outdoor seating. The new formats come on the heels of a major multi-unit franchise development strategy announced last month that is set to grow the brand to 2,000 units. “Today’s customer wants a frictionless, safe experience and we’re evolving to …

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QDOBA Mexican Eats Hires VP of Franchise Development

by Katie Lee

San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has hired franchising industry veteran Peter Ortiz as vice president of franchise development. In his new role, Ortiz will be directing the 730-unit brand’s strategic franchise expansion across key markets in the U.S. and Canada. He joined the brand in mid-August from Potbelly. In recent years, QDOBA set the stage for continued growth by hiring over 100 corporate employees at its new San Diego headquarters, establishing a more distinctive brand identity and expanding its menu …

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