In October 2014, Qdoba changed their price structure to "all-inclusive" in which the price only depended on the type of protein ($7.80 for chicken or vegetarian items and $8.40 for steak, shredded beef or pork), but included all of the "extras" that previously incurred an additional charge, such as guacamole and queso sauce. In June 2013, Qdoba announced it would close a total of 67 underperforming restaurants, including 18 in and around Chicago. Tim Casey replaced Gary Beisler as CEO in March 2013. Qdoba repurchased 25 stores located in Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee from ZT of Louisville, Inc., one its largest franchisees, for an undisclosed sum in mid-2012. A third location opened in Winnipeg in 2014. A second location was opened in London, Ontario, three months later. The first Canadian location opened on December 3, 2012, in Brandon, Manitoba. in Peabody, MassachusettsĪs of 2013, Qdoba operates over 600 fast-casual restaurant locations throughout the United States. In June 2019, Qdoba finally moved its headquarters from the building that it had previously shared for the past two years with its former corporate parent Jack in the Box in Kerney Mesa to the Amp&rsand building in Mission Valley. received $305 million in cash for more than 700 locations in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. At the time of the announcement, Qdoba had approximately 700 restaurants in 47 states. In December 2017, a consortium of funds led by Apollo Global Management announced the purchase of the Qdoba chain for approximately $305 million.
A little over two years later, San Diego-based corporate parent Jack in the Box decided to integrate Qdoba's headquarters into Jack in the Box's main headquarters in California starting in January 2017. In 2014, Qdoba moved its headquarters from its longtime home in Wheat Ridge to nearby Lakewood.
Three years later, Casey was replaced by Keith Guilbault in May 2016. In October 2012, Beisler announced his retirement and was replaced the following March by Tim Casey. Jack in the Box paid $45 million in cash to obtain the Wheat Ridge-based Qdoba from ACI Capital, Western Growth Capital, and other private investors in early 2003. At the time of the name change to Qdoba Mexican Grill, Gary Beisler replaced Miller as CEO. To overcome these problems, the name Qdoba was invented in 1999 by ad agency Heckler Associates. Įven though Z-Teca was another made-up name, there were lawsuits made by Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill in Arizona and Azteca in Washington state that the Z-Teca name was too similar to their names and it infringed on their tradenames.
By December 1999, Z-Teca had 49 locations in 19 states. At that time, a chicken burrito cost only $4.79. By mid-1998, Z-Teca had 21 locations in 9 states, with 10 of those locations being franchises. Later that year, Gary Beisler was hired in 1998 to replace Miller as president and chief operating officer while Miller remained as chief executive officer. In exchange for a large stake, Western Capital and other investors gave the company a large infusion of capital in early 1998 to allow the company to open 25 new locations and nearly triple its size. During the same year, Z-teca began to offer franchise opportunities to entrepreneurs to expand the chain outside of its core territory of Colorado. In 1997, the name of the company was changed from Zuma to Z-Teca Mexican Grill because of a lawsuit from another restaurant using the Zuma name in Boston and confusion caused by the similar-sounding ZuZu Handmade Mexican Grill chain that was operating in the Denver area at that time. The cost of opening the 1,300-square-foot (120 m 2) store had been only $180,000. The Denver, Colorado, location was an immediate success, with first-year revenues exceeding $1,500,000. Zuma was a made-up name but was also the name of a friend's cat. During the first year, lines stretched out the door during most evenings at dinnertime, but it usually took roughly seven minutes for customers in a 30-person line to get served. Hauser developed most of the recipes and tried to design the menu to be healthier by replacing the use of traditional animal fats with vegetable oils and tried to use more fresh vegetables and herbs when he could. Miller and Hauser met in New York City, where Miller was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch when Hauser was attending the Culinary Institute of America and working at the famed Le Cirque restaurant. Interior of a Qdoba restaurant, Woodbridge, Virginia