By the end of 2021, Torchy’s Tacos CEO G.J. Hart says he plans to open three new restaurants in the Dallas suburbs of Frisco, Mansfield and McKinney.
The Austin-based company will continue to grow not only in North Texas but across the country, despite the challenges many restaurants have faced during the coronavirus pandemic. Hart has his sights set on opening 17 new restaurants in the U.S. in 2021.
The plan is to double the number of restaurants, from 83 to 165, by the end of 2024, Hart says.
The funky taco shop’s growth plan is slimmer than it was pre-pandemic, but only slightly: The original plan was to open 100 restaurants instead of the new goal of just over 80.
Torchy’s opened 12 restaurants in 2020.
Hart, the former CEO of Texas Roadhouse and California Pizza Kitchen, says the company is not afraid of growth during the coronavirus pandemic for two reasons.
First, he sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
“We’re Americans, right? We’re going to solve this problem. We’re tough,” he says. “I believe that this vaccine will get distributed. I believe things will be different — but they will start to normalize as we go through 2021.”
Second, he thinks there’s room for resilient brands to prevail as others fail.
“Sadly, our industry is seeing less capacity, for sure. And the brands that are going to do well are brands that are strong, that resonate with the consumer with current trends. And we think that we fit,” he says. “We feel like it’s really important to go on the offensive here and be ready to open in these new markets and do well.”
Nearly all of Texas’ 50,000 or so restaurants were threatened during the pandemic, Torchy’s included. In March, the company lost 50% of its sales almost overnight. Hart said he and his team furloughed “a large percentage of workers,” but the company wouldn’t give a specific number. More than 2,000 furloughed workers have returned to their jobs, Hart says.
Torchy’s has been fixated on delivery since 2018, when it made an exclusive partnership with DoorDash. But it doesn’t have drive-throughs — yet — and it wasn’t set up immediately for curbside service, Hart says. The company added curbside service in the early days of the pandemic.
“I wouldn’t say we were ready for [the pandemic],” Hart says. But dine-out was top of mind. Pre-pandemic, about 33% of sales were delivery or carryout, Hart says — higher than some restaurants but still not enough to sustain a business that went delivery-only almost overnight.
Hart said in 2018 that the company would need to transition to 50% dine-in sales, 50% dine-out sales. He believes that now more than ever.
In September, the company started selling its green-chile queso in Whole Foods grocery stores, and consumers went wild for it. News about its debut was one of our most popular food stories of 2020.
Dallas Morning News readers picked Torchy’s queso as the best in the region in an online vote in 2017, and it’s the No. 1 selling item at the restaurants. The fervor over it proves that they need to sell it in more stores, Hart says. “We’re working on that,” he says.
The restaurants in Mansfield and Frisco are expected to open in June, barring construction or pandemic delays. Plans for McKinney have not been inked yet, but Hart says he hopes the company can open a restaurant north of S.H. 121 by the end of 2021.
The farthest-north restaurants currently open in North Texas are in Allen, Highland Village and Denton. The company has a clear opening to serve customers in Frisco and McKinney.
The restaurant in Mansfield will be the farthest-south Torchy’s in the D-FW area.
Torchy’s new restaurants will be at 1671 East Broad St. in Mansfield and 2947 Preston Road (in the Shops at Stonebriar) in Frisco. The McKinney address is not set yet.
