---
title: "Franchise Times: \"Del Taco operator grows debt-free, plus new moves by Toppers and Tide”"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/531e1dc9-ec30-43db-b15a-82704a4f6c10
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-times-del-taco-operator-grows-debt-free-plus-new-moves-by-toppers-and-tide-2703523
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
published: 2017-08-03T04:23:48.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:35:12.940Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/626563429a9959300c2a98893728e8719412.jpg
---

# Franchise Times: "Del Taco operator grows debt-free, plus new moves by Toppers and Tide”

**TL;DR:** Toppers Pizza has attracted a Del Taco operator and a Five Guys operator as franchisees, with plans to open 22 locations over the next seven years. The partners, Mike McLaughlin and Willie Frank, operate nine Five Guys locations in Virginia and Maryland.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-08-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-times-del-taco-operator-grows-debt-free-plus-new-moves-by-toppers-and-tide-2703523).*

## Story

Wisconsin-based franchise Toppers Pizza has spent more than 25 years perfecting their approach to delivery, and the brand is attracting those from other segments of the franchise industry. Mike McLaughlin and partner, Willie Frank, operate nine Five Guys locations in Virginia and Maryland - but in a recent article in Franchise Times, they said they were looking for a second brand and found it with Toppers. “Technology is revolutionizing what the pizza delivery guys are doing.

For such a small company, Toppers gets that,” McLaughlin told Franchise Times. The partners signed to open 22 Toppers Pizza locations over the next seven years.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- franchisees (topic)
- Toppers Pizza (company)
- Del Taco (company)
- Five Guys (company)
- pizza delivery (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-times-del-taco-operator-grows-debt-free-plus-new-moves-by-toppers-and-tide-2703523). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/531e1dc9-ec30-43db-b15a-82704a4f6c10).