A new fast-casual Mexican restaurant has landed in Thurston County, with QDOBA Mexican Eats now open at 2400 Marvin Road NE in Lacey. The build-your-own burrito, bowl, taco and nachos chain has set up shop inside the Hogum Bay Town Center, joining a growing retail corridor in the city.
A New Addition to Hogum Bay Town Center
According to The Olympian, QDOBA opened its Lacey location at Hogum Bay Town Center, where it now sits alongside tenants 24 Kitchens and Super Chix. A franchisee representative told the paper the restaurant opened in December. The Lacey South Sound Chamber of Commerce later hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the store, which Chamber board president Nick Kerry confirmed took place, with 25 to 30 people in attendance. The Chamber also promoted the event on social media, per the same report.
Ownership of the Lacey store traces back to 7 Star Eats, a Denver-based franchisee, according to The Olympian's reporting. QDOBA's own announcement, separate from the Lacey opening, describes a Pacific Northwest expansion by a company called 7 Star Eats, an affiliate of B Wild Investments, which completed the acquisition of 22 QDOBA restaurants in the region, growing its footprint to 42 locations across Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Washington. B Wild Investments has also expanded its development commitment to 63 units across Colorado, Utah, Washington, Nevada and New Mexico, the company says.
What's on the Menu
The Lacey location, which sits at 2400 Marvin Road NE, serves bowls, tacos, nachos, burritos and salads, letting customers select their own toppings. On its location page, QDOBA highlights customizable options including create-your-own burritos, tacos and nachos. The chain says it prepares fresh ingredients by hand in-house throughout the day and flame-grills its chicken and steak. The Lacey store is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., per The Olympian.
Cooper Claridge, a River Ridge High School student, gave the new spot a favorable review, describing the food as organic, flavorful and good, according to The Olympian's report.
A Chain in the Middle of Rapid Growth
Just how big QDOBA has become depends on which count you use. QDOBA's own July announcement put the chain at 865 locations across 46 U.S. states, plus restaurants in Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and South Korea. A separate report from the San Diego Business Journal in January put the number at 840 locations across 45 states, along with 14 in Canada, one in Japan and four in Puerto Rico. The two figures don't line up, and the available reporting doesn't explain the discrepancy.
What's clearer is the pace of the chain's expansion. Eighty percent of Qdoba restaurants are run by multi-brand franchisees, per the Business Journal, and the company has signed deals to develop 87 more restaurants in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Qdoba has commitments for 650 additional stores and plans to open 100 restaurants a year starting in 2027, with an eye toward roughly doubling its U.S. footprint by 2032. Butterfly, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, bought Qdoba in 2022, according to the same outlet. QDOBA's own release goes further, stating that the brand and its franchise partners currently operate more than 865 restaurants with plans to nearly double that total to approximately 2,000 restaurants within the next eight years.
For Lacey residents, the headline is simpler: a new place to grab a customizable burrito or bowl has opened just off Marvin Road NE, tucked into a town center that's been steadily filling in with new tenants.
