Mike's Red Tacos, the San Diego-born birria chain, has signed a 36-unit development agreement to bring its tacos, consomme and queso birria to the Tampa and Orlando areas as well as Florida's East Coast. The deal pairs the fast-growing taco concept with Tampa-based Built Different Brands, a multi-brand restaurant franchise operator, to build out dozens of new locations across the state.
According to Patch, the agreement calls for 36 Mike's Red Tacos restaurants to open across the Tampa and Orlando markets and Florida's East Coast, with the first restaurant under the deal expected to open in 2027. Built Different Brands is led by CEO Kal Gullapalli and operates more than 80 restaurants under brands including Dave's Hot Chicken, Marco's Pizza and PopUp Bagels, per the same report. As Fast Casual notes, Mike's Red Tacos is based in San Diego and is known for its birria-centric menu.
Mike's Red Tacos president Vincent Montanelli said Built Different Brands' restaurant operations experience made it a strong partner for the Florida push, according to Patch's report. The company has said it seeks experienced franchisees and restaurant operators with strong business backgrounds and the ability to scale multiple locations, a standard the Built Different Brands team was described as meeting given its track record running large restaurant portfolios.
From Food Truck to National Franchise Push
Mike's Red Tacos began as a food truck in 2021 before opening its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in August 2022, Patch reported. Sourcing on the brand's exact founding date varies: restaurantbusinessonline.com has reported the chain was founded in San Diego in 2021, while franchisetimes.com has reported it was founded in 2020 and began franchising earlier that year. Vincent Montanelli is president and COO of the company, according to Restaurant Business Online.
The brand has racked up recognition despite its young age. Mike's Red Tacos was named to Yelp's Top 100 U.S. Restaurants list in 2023 and was recognized as a Nation's Restaurant News Hot Concept in 2026, per Patch. Whatnow.com has reported that the chain has opened three high-performing restaurants within the past four years.
Celebrity Backers and a Sprawling Pipeline
The brand's growth has attracted star power. According to the Sports Business Journal, LeBron James made an undisclosed investment in Mike's Red Tacos, adding to a resume that includes early backing of Blaze Pizza and Dave's Hot Chicken and an earlier venture called Buckets, a full-service restaurant concept in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Bill Phelps, described by Restaurant Business Online as the mastermind behind Wetzel's Pretzels, Blaze Pizza and Dave's Hot Chicken, was an early investor in Mike's Red Tacos and now serves as its chair, the Sports Business Journal reported.
The Florida deal is part of a much larger national buildout. Mike's Red Tacos has more than 200 locations planned across the country, according to Axios, while whatnow.com has reported that more than 350 units are already committed nationwide. Restaurant Business Online separately reported that the chain had sold development rights for roughly 350 units across about 12 states. A prnewswire.com release detailing the February franchising launch said the strategy would initially focus on top-tier markets including Southern California, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, Miami and Boston, with deals also covering California, Michigan, Minnesota, New England, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Indiana and Illinois.
That same release said construction on the initial wave of franchise restaurants was expected to begin within months, with the first to open by the end of 2026 — a timeline that sits ahead of the 2027 opening Patch reported for the new Florida restaurants. Franchisetimes.com has reported that Mike's Red Tacos announced its national franchise expansion push in February, and that other new franchisees, Brian Cassidy and Sam Wong of CW Strong Restaurant Group, will open units in the Austin and San Francisco Bay markets. The pair's existing portfolio includes more than 20 Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants and 127 Carl's Jr. locations, according to the same report.
Birria's Moment on the Menu
The Florida expansion rides a broader surge in demand for birria. Birria now appears on 3.7% of U.S. menus, more than four times its share in 2022, according to Datassential figures cited by Axios. A separate Datassential projection cited in the prnewswire.com release found birria could appear on more than 5% of U.S. menus by 2028, up from just 0.5% in 2020.
Mike's Red Tacos has leaned into that momentum by building out company-run locations meant to serve as models for its franchise partners. Shoppingcenterbusiness.com has reported that a Pasadena corporate location is intended to serve as a prototype for stores in the development pipeline as well as the brand's training center, while Axios has reported that a newer Mira Mesa restaurant is now the model for future stores. Shoppingcenterbusiness.com also reported that Mike's Red Tacos has secured development agreements with franchisees who previously built out Dave's Hot Chicken, Jersey Mike's, Blaze Pizza, Dunkin', Little Caesars, Carl's Jr. and Wetzel's Pretzels — the same multi-brand operator pedigree now steering the chain's arrival in Tampa and Orlando.
Built Different Brands brings its own scale to the partnership. Beyond Dave's Hot Chicken, Marco's Pizza and PopUp Bagels, its portfolio also includes Restore Hyper Wellness, VIO Med Spa, Sandbox VR and Hand & Stone Massage, according to Tampa Bay Business and Wealth. That outlet reported the company generates about $120 million in revenue from more than 80 locations across several states and had planned to open 15 to 17 locations that year and as many as 24 the following year.
