Qdoba Restaurant Chain Eyes Buffalo

(Friday, April 03, 2009) - Qdoba, a rapidly expanding Mexican food chain, is targeting the Buffalo Niagara and upstate regions as one its preferred locations for new restaurants.

Qdoba has begun a marketing campaign to land franchise operators for the Buffalo sites. The chain, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jack-in-the-Box Inc., sees the Buffalo area as potentially being home to as many as 10 Qdoba outlets.

"Buffalo is one of the larger metropolitan areas that we are not yet in," said Todd Owen, Qdoba vice president of franchise development. "It is definitely on the short list for markets that we have not yet gotten to."

The Denver-based Qdoba has 470 restaurants of which 75 percent are run by franchisees, Owen said.

Qdoba offers a full-day menu including breakfast items. It is best known for its special signature burritos, tacos, quesadillas and Mexican gumbo.

Start up costs are approximately $550,000, plus the cost of leasing space. Most Qdobas are located in end-cap space in existing strip malls and power centers.

Owen said Qdoba's first preference is to work with a franchise operator who runs other restaurants, but the chain hasn't ruled out first-time operators.

"It does take a certain skill set to run a restaurant," Owen said.

All Qdoba franchise operators undergo a four-week training course at the company's Denver headquarters.

Qdoba has several locations in Pennsylvania and many in the Manhattan/New Jersey area.

In Buffalo, it is likely to face stiff competition from the likes of locally-owned Mighty Taco plus chains like Moe's Southwest Grill, Salsarita's and Taco Bell.

"Right now, nobody in Buffalo really knows who or what Qdoba is," Owen said.

Qdoba opened 77 units last year and is on target to open between 60 and 80 locations this year.

Besides Buffalo, the chain is also looking for franchised operators in Rochester, Syracuse and Albany.

Owen said he remains hopeful that Qdoba could have its first Buffalo area stores opened within the next 12 months.

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