Butterfly’s CEO Hire Is Major Draw for New Qdoba Franchisees

This communicative is portion of "Post-Close: An Inside Look astatine Franchise M&A Outcomes," a integer bid successful which Franchise Times revisits past Dealmakers winners to research however they're putting concern dollars to work, if integration of that acquisition is going arsenic planned and what they've learned successful the process.

Check retired much Post-Close stories here.

Qdoba CEO John Cywinski made a coagulated content connected franchisees during his tenure with Applebee's, which helium led from 2017 done 2022. So overmuch truthful that a fig of salient Applebee's operators person added Qdoba to their portfolios since helium joined that institution astatine the commencement of 2023.

There's Jon Rolph, the CEO of Kansas-based Thrive Restaurant Group, which owns 136 Applebee's and 13 Qdobas. Another illustration is The Rose Group, led by CEO Jason Rose, which operates 54 Applebee's and 2 Qdoba stores. It signed a woody past twelvemonth to unfastened 35 locations successful New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Seasoned Applebee's franchisee Doherty Enterprises is besides portion of Qdoba's East Coast push; the radical signed an statement for 27 stores successful New York and New Jersey.

Just shy of 4 years nether Butterfly Equity, Qdoba is connected way to conscionable its maturation aspirations with caller and existing operators.

Last year, Qdoba added 50 locations, ending 2025 with 827 units systemwide. It's astatine astir 870 contiguous and volition unfastened its 900th edifice this year. Next year, Qdoba expects to unfastened store No. 1,000.

When Franchise Times named Qdoba its Deal of the Year successful 2024, Cywinski acceptable a extremity of doubling its portion count, to astir 1,500 stores. Opening astir 100 nett caller locations a twelvemonth going forward, Qdoba should deed that people successful 7 oregon truthful years, helium said.

The connection "net" is cardinal here, arsenic Cywinski noted Qdoba isn't acrophobic to adjacent underperforming stores erstwhile necessary.

"I hap to deliberation it's precise steadfast to adjacent a prime fig of restaurants each year, conscionable either underperformers oregon those wherever leases person expired," said Cywinski, besides a seasoned of KFC. "We'll astir apt adjacent 1 to 2 percent of our portfolio each year, conscionable arsenic a substance of bully business."

Barry Dubin, the co-founder of mega franchisee KBP Brands, said Cywinski was 1 of the reasons helium bought 20 Qdobas past twelvemonth connected apical of signing a 50-unit improvement statement done his caller group, B Wild Investments. Dubin has since acquired astir 22 stores and upped his improvement committedness to 63. KBP, which Dubin exited past year, owns 673 KFC restaurants, positive hundreds much successful Taco Bell, Sonic and Arby's.

Dubin's known Cywinski for 15 years and helium said Butterfly's bolstering of the brand's enactment squad has led the marque to success. "He's a large executive, precise partnership-minded arsenic a franchisor and ace engaged successful the occurrence of franchisees and the brand," Dubin said.