SAN DIEGO – The Mexican fast-casual category is growing.
San Diego-based Qdoba Mexican Eats is ready to dig in.
This month, the rapidly scaling restaurant brand signed a new development agreement for 17 restaurants across San Diego County, led by local multi-unit operator Hyperion Brands, LLC.
“We are in a phase of really, really good growth in multiple markets,” Qdoba Chief Development Officer Jeremy Vitaro said. “What excited me about this one, besides the quality of the operator, Hyperion, and their background, is the fact that it was in a market that has so much potential.”
Qdoba currently operates five locations in San Diego, including restaurants at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton; California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM); San Diego Naval Base; The Valley; and San Diego International Airport.
The new deal with Hyperion is one move in a broader wave of development agreements expanding Qdoba’s presence in markets like California, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.
“California obviously offers us a lot of opportunity,” Vitaro said. “It can be a challenging market to grow. Development timelines are long. The real estate is sought after, but at times expensive. So, we wanted to find the right group that operates in the market, that has other restaurants and that really understands both the human side — building an organization — and the and the real estate side — finding and building great sites.”
Strategizing Market Presence
In January, Qdoba brought on a partner operator in Santa Barbara and Ventura. The partnership with Hyperion in San Diego is the company’s second deal of its kind in California.
Qdoba and its franchise partners currently operate about 875 restaurants. About 100 of those locations are what Vitaro deemed “non-traditional.” These are restaurants located primarily at sites like universities, military bases and airports.
Four out of San Diego’s five Qdoba locations are non-traditional. Vitaro said that the company is focused on expanding the presence of more traditional locations, like its restaurant at The Valley, throughout San Diego.
All 17 locations in the deal with Hyperion will be traditional.
Visibility, parking and retail adjacency are all important factors for positioning Qdoba locations.
“You want residential density, and then you want daytime activity. We need both,” Vitaro said. “Our business is about 50-50 lunch and dinner, which is a good thing, but it means we need activity throughout the day. And then we like to have solid purchasing power — we play across a really broad demographic of consumers.”
Pacing Development
The 17 locations charted out in the deal with Hyperion will take about five years to fully develop, Vitaro said. After settling into the market, the company plans on growing about three to five restaurants annually.
Hyperion will have exclusivity on Qdoba’s development in San Diego.
As consumers face pressure from mounting gas prices and economic uncertainty, Vitaro said that the restaurant business is put in a tough spot. He added, however, that the Mexican fast-casual category has seen strong performance.
“We feel really good about the space we’re in,” Vitaro said. “It’s a really good space in general for fast-casual. I think the consumer cares more and more about food quality, about seeing what they’re eating and being able to customize, which fits our model — you go down the line and customize your bowl or burrito however you want it, and it’s very fresh.”
Qdoba’s broader expansion strategy aims to double its footprint to about 2,000 restaurants and open 100 restaurants annually in the coming years.
In 2025, Qdoba generated about $1.268 billion in systemwide sales. The company’s average unit volume (AUV) has increased year over year, reaching $1.7 million in 2025.
“We still have a lot of opportunity in California beyond these two agreements,” Vitaro said. “We love to work with great operators, folks that have built great businesses in the food segment. We’re hoping to find some additional work with a couple other large groups.”
Qdoba Mexican Eats
FOUNDED: 1995
CEO: John Cywinski
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Restaurant (Fast Casual)
EMPLOYEES: QDOBA has 244 employees in the corporate office and 3,257 corporate restaurant employees.
REVENUE: QDOBA generated approximately $1.268 billion in systemwide sales in 2025.
WEBSITE: https://www.qdoba.com
CONTACT: [email protected]
SOCIAL IMPACT: QDOBA supports local communities through fundraising partnerships with schools, nonprofits and charitable organizations. Through its Force4Good fundraising platform, QDOBA restaurants host fundraising events for community groups, including school organizations, youth sports teams, college groups and local nonprofits.
NOTABLE: QDOBA was originally founded in Denver, Colorado, as Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill before evolving into the brand known today.
Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.
