Del Taco Restaurants Inc. signed a franchisee to open seven units in Tennessee in a return to the market for the fast food chain, and in Georgia, where Del Taco recently announced new franchise deals.
The new franchisee is Jetz Food LLC, whose principals own and run 31 Little Caesar’s pizza locations in Tennessee and Georgia.
They’ve pledged to open the seven Del Taco restaurants through 2019.
Del Taco said in July 2015 that a franchisee would open 10 new sites there—in Knox, Sevier, Blount, Loudon, Hamblen and Anderson counties—with the first expected last year and the full slate by 2021.
The chain’s website currently shows no Tennessee locations; the company’s efforts there and in Georgia are part of ongoing expansion for the chain in the Southeast U.S.
Del Taco has about 550 company-owned and franchised locations in 15 states. It earned $21 million in net income on $452 million in revenue last year.
—Paul Hughes
