Fast-Casual Tijuana Flats Drops Franchise Program
(FranchisePick.Com) Franchising is not the right expansion strategy for every company. Fast-casual Mexican chain Tijuana Flats has decided it’s not for them.
According to a report from the Orlando Sentinal (Tijuana Flats shelves franchising as way to build Tex-Mex chain), after five years of franchising
Tijuana Flats has gotten out of the franchise business and will grow its business through existing partners and corporate stores.
According to the article, Tijuana Flats has about 50 restaurants, with more than a dozen in Central Florida. They recently repurchased failing franchises in Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach and have worked for a turnaround at those sites. According to the company, they increased earnings 28 percent for the first four months of this year compared with last, and boosted same-store sales 8.5 percent. Projected annual sales for 2007 are $45 million.
“There are so many companies out there that are just franchise machines,” said Brian Wheeler, founder of the company. “When you do that, you can lose the integrity of the brand.”
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“We realized that we didn’t want to have a franchise company,” Wheeler said of the decision to cap franchisees. “We’re operators. We love running restaurants, and we’re good at it.”
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