QDOBA Mexican Eats, the Mexican fast-casual concept, has announced the appointment of Lori Osley as the vice president of franchise development, Kyle Brown as director of design and architecture and Anthony Friel as project manager. The new additions will offer continual support to new and existing franchisees alike.
Osley has gained significant development experience through her previous role as senior director of franchise development at Sonic Drive-In’s. She led franchisee recruitment initiatives and built strong relationships with operators. Osley will make use her full 15 years of experience to drive QDOBA’s growth.
Brown’s project management and design roles that he held at Sonic Drive-In and Blaze Pizza have made him the right person to inform QDOBA on traditional and non-traditional store design.
Friel is a veteran of restaurant construction with 17 years of experience, having worked with brands such as Modern Market and Kinetic Projects.
“While exploring a variety of franchise development leadership opportunities, I had a strong list of criteria for the brand that I was seeking to join — the brand has to offer a great return on investment, the opportunity to onboard with various models of investments and ample white space to allow for continual franchise growth. QDOBA checked all of those boxes, and more,” said Osley.
“Joining a strong team, especially with the addition of Kyle and Anthony, gives me ample room to grow as a professional and learn from the best. I’m looking forward to connecting with qualified multi-unit operators across the country by visiting target growth markets and attending various industry conferences, like the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference (MUFC) in the coming weeks!”
The trio is joining QDOBA during a busy period – after the brand inked the largest deal in its history, and ended 2021 with 60 franchise commitments.
“Every member joining our team brings an impressive portfolio with them. They each have a unique perspective for aiding franchisees that will help guide us through our major growth period,” said Jim Sullivan, chief development officer at QDOBA.
“Stacking our development team allows us to provide franchisees with the type of support that not all brands are equipped to offer – rather than moving to a low-touch support model, we are leaning into giving as much assistance as possible.”
