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California Tortilla locations feature the Wall of Flame, a large selection of hot sauces
California Tortilla®, a California-style Mexican concept with 30 locations, has signed an agreement with a former employee to open a new franchise location in Maryland’s Montgomery County. The company is looking to grow further around Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and to span out along the Eastern Seaboard, with a goal of adding 100 new locations in the next five years.
This is the latest agreement secured since California Tortilla emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic and launched a new franchise expansion effort.
The new location, once open, will feature California Tortilla’s ACE (Accuracy, Customization and Engagement) model, which lets guests communicate directly with team members as they move down the food-preparation line to build a dish that fits their cravings. California Tortilla introduced the ACE model shortly before the pandemic and has since converted more than one-third of its locations to the format. All future locations will adhere to the format as well.
“The pandemic was a challenge for all restaurants,” said Keith Goldman, who became the chain’s president/CEO in June after serving more than 12 years as its chief operating officer. “It was also an opportunity to assess our strengths and opportunities so that we could mount an aggressive resurgence once we emerged from that period. With our operator-friendly ACE model, increasing demand for high-quality, fast-casual Mexican food, our first new franchise group and a clear vision of where we want to grow, we’re very optimistic about the potential to bring California Tortilla to many new markets over the next several years.”
The new Maryland location is being opened by former employee Erin Bila, her husband, Rogerio, and a business partner, Dilshad Awan. The newly formed group, operating as Bila & Awan Group, LLC, hopes to secure a location soon and be open by early next year.
Bila said she and her partners are eager to leverage their respective strengths and capitalize on California Tortilla’s strength in their market. The brand is well-established in Montgomery County, where it already has six locations. All three partners also reside in the county – the Bilas in Damascus and Awan in Rockville – and have extensive restaurant experience. Erin started in the industry working at the California Tortilla in Olney, Md., and went on to work one of the largest Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees in the state, where she is still employed. Rogerio and Dilshad worked for that same organization but are now devoted full time to developing and operating their new California Tortilla franchise.
“Once we decided to strike out on our own,” Bila said, “we inquired about several concepts, but at the end of the day I pushed for California Tortilla because I know and love this brand and so do many people throughout this area. California Tortilla has been near and dear to me since I started my career. I even still have my W-2 from 2007, my first year at the company. I am excited to get this first location open, and then work on opening more.”
Franchise opportunities with California Tortilla are available in select markets throughout the eastern United States. For more information, or to inquire about available territories, contact Tom Finn at California Tortilla at (410) 960-9565 or tom.finn@californiatortilla.com, or visit https://franchise.californiatortilla.com/.
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