Del Taco wants 7 eateries in the area
Quick-service Mexican restaurant concept Del Taco is slated to come to the Chattanooga area with the first of seven units to go up by 2019, according to the company.
The Lake Forest, Calif.-based restaurant chain has signed multiunit franchise development agreement with Jetz Foods LLC of Chattanooga to bring the eateries to Hamilton and Bradley counties in Tennessee and Whitfield, Catoosa and Gordon counties in Georgia.
Tom Getz of Jetz Foods said he and partner Billy Jensen wanted to be part of the Del Taco brand as it expands.
“No other quick-service concept in the greater Chattanooga area offers the same level of freshness and quality of food with the value and convenience of a drive through,” said Getz.
Getz locally owns and operates 21 Little Caesars restaurants in Tennessee and Georgia. He said he and his wife have been in the Little Caesars business for 31 years and a franchisee for the past two decades.
Getz said he’d like to put the first Del Taco eatery in Chattanooga and hopes to start a lot sooner than by 2019. But, he said, the location will depend on finding the best possible site.
“We’d love to start in Chattanooga. Our segment is pretty competitive,” he added.
Plans are to put two or three restaurants in Hamilton County and the remainder in Bradley, Whitfield and Gordon, Getz said.
“But if things go well, we’ll expand from there,” he said. “We’re committed to seven.”
Depending on real estate, the cost to open a restaurant will range
“We’d love to start in Chattanooga.”
— DEL TACO FRANCHISEE TOM GETZ
from $1 million to $2 million for each location, Getz said. Each eatery will employ about 45 to 50 people, he said.
Laura Tanaka, Del Taco’s director of franchise development, said the restaurant chain is expanding its presence in the Southeast.
“We’ve prioritized our Southeastern growth efforts, with planned developments in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee,” she said in a statement.
Founded in 1964, the company says it’s the second leading Mexican restaurant concept in the U.S. by number of units. It said it serves over 3 million people weekly at more than 550 restaurants in 15 states.
Getz said that, beyond Little Caesars, he was looking for a franchise and Del Taco caught his eye. He said that Jensen has been working with him for several years and Getz decided to take him on as a partner in the Del Taco business.
“We love opportunities for people and employees,” Getz said. “We’re from Chattanooga. We live in Chattanooga. That separates us from other franchisees.”
Late last year, a Nashville-area company that builds fast food outlets around the country in partnership with large franchisees said it planned to raise eight Taco John’s restaurants in the Chattanooga area. American Development Partners of Franklin, Tenn., said it designs, builds and funds the construction of chain restaurants around the country.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress. com or 423-757-6318.