Qdoba is planning a major hometown buildout, announcing an agreement for more than a dozen new restaurants across San Diego County. The fast-casual Mexican chain signed the deal with San Diego-based Hyperion Brands, LLC, which will develop 17 additional restaurants throughout the region.
The agreement was reported by Fox 5 San Diego, which notes Qdoba currently operates more than 850 locations across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and South Korea. Hyperion Brands is led by CEO and co-founder Cesar Shih, who also operates multiple locations of The Habit Burger & Grill across California, according to a release from PR Newswire. Shih said Hyperion Brands is looking forward to bringing Qdoba's flavors and value to guests across the region, per Fox 5's report.
A Hometown Company Growing In Its Own Backyard
There's a bit of local irony baked into this expansion. Qdoba moved its corporate headquarters and culinary test kitchen, dubbed Flavor Central, to San Diego's Mission Valley back in 2019, but the brand's local footprint has not been detailed here, per a company release cited by Qdoba. The chain does have existing locations at San Diego International Airport, the San Diego Naval Base and in Mission Valley itself, per Fox 5's reporting, but adding 17 more restaurants represents a substantial local surge for a brand that's called the county home for years.
Qdoba's roots in San Diego actually run deeper than the 2019 headquarters move. The chain was a subsidiary of Jack in the Box Inc., which is also based in San Diego, before it was sold to investors in 2018. Qdoba's chief development officer, Jeremy Vitaro, described California as a priority growth market for the company, according to Fox 5's coverage.
The Bigger Picture: A Push Toward 2,000 Restaurants
The San Diego County deal fits into a much larger national strategy. Qdoba plans to double its current footprint to approximately 2,000 restaurants, and the company aims to open roughly 100 new stores annually while pushing its franchised store proportion to 85 percent of systemwide units, according to Restaurant Dive. Qdoba held over 650 signed store development commitments entering the middle of this year, the outlet reported.
That growth is being fueled by private equity. Butterfly Equity, which acquired Qdoba in 2022, closed a $527 million continuation fund in August 2025 led by former owner Apollo Global Management to finance the chain's long-term unit growth, as reported by Restaurant Business Magazine. Earlier in 2026, Qdoba also completed a $435 million whole business securitization, a financing structure used to reduce refinancing costs, according to Nation's Restaurant News. That outlet also reported on Qdoba's 2025 results.
Leadership And Labor Costs Behind The Strategy
Former Applebee's president John Cywinski became Qdoba's CEO in 2023 as the company pursued a franchise-first revitalization plan, per Restaurant Business Magazine's earlier reporting. Qdoba is the second-leading fast-casual Mexican chain, trailing only Chipotle Mexican Grill, according to reporting cited by Hoodline. To speed up buildouts nationally, Qdoba has also pursued franchise-led growth, per a report cited by Qdoba's own franchise news page.
Any California expansion also comes with broader labor-cost considerations.
The press release names San Diego County but does not list individual sites. Qdoba's continued growth locally follows the chain's nationwide franchise-led growth.
