---
title: "California Tortilla Enters the Tennessee Market in Partnership With A Seasoned Chattanooga Business Owner"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/7a86b315-05f7-4b71-b139-834136f10b2a
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/california-tortilla-enters-the-tennessee-market-in-partnership-with-a-seasoned-chattanooga-business-owner-2711647
category: "Mexican"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Mexican"
published: 2019-11-19T19:14:02.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:29:06.614Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/aa8f0bfbd0d81ddf744b2abac2a23730380.jpg
---

# California Tortilla Enters the Tennessee Market in Partnership With A Seasoned Chattanooga Business Owner

**TL;DR:** California Tortilla has partnered with Chattanooga business owner Divyesh Modi to enter the Tennessee market. Modi will help the brand expand to other areas in Tennessee, including Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-11-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/california-tortilla-enters-the-tennessee-market-in-partnership-with-a-seasoned-chattanooga-business-owner-2711647).*

## Story

**Divyesh Modi and his close-knit family have been fixtures in the Chattanooga business community since emigrating from India in 1984. Modi’s father worked in a hotel with his uncle, which both families ran. In partnership with his aunt and uncle, twin brother and cousin, Modi’s business acumen grew through a number of family businesses from the time he was in high school until now, from hotels to liquor stores and back again.**

**Owning a restaurant was something Modi and his family had been interested in pursuing for some time, but between juggling their other businesses and raising their families, broadening their portfolio wasn’t in the cards until recently.**

**“As we started looking for another business to get involved in, we wanted something that mirrored the retail experience we already had but was still something new,” Modi recounted. “I first came across** **California Tortilla** **in an online search exploring franchise opportunities and was drawn in naturally because I love Mexican food and found this fast-casual option intriguing.”**

**Specifically, Modi said,** **California Tortilla’s** **menu made a lot of sense in Chattanooga because the similar concepts in the area didn’t function in a fast casual setting, nor did they offer the same level of chef-inspired options as Cal Tort.**

**“I love Mexican food and could tell California Tortilla was a unique player in the space,” Modi said. “Almost everyone likes something in this category—it's so broad and so big that we thought our community could use a new alternative to what’s out there.”**

**As he continued digging in, Modi was further impressed by** **Cal Tort’s commitment to freshness****—so much so that none of its restaurants even have freezers in their kitchens. “Nothing is pre-cooked and food is fresh every day, and that interested me because that’s exactly what everyone is looking for in our market,” he added. As his search deepened, Modi was also compelled by the brand’s stellar support systems from a business perspective.**

**“As an experienced business owner, I have a strong track record succeeding in the retail space,” Modi said. “I have previous franchise experience, but with a hotel concept—I knew that if I was going to be opening a restaurant, a franchise model was the route to take because of the support. California Tortilla’s support was strongest in the areas where I needed it the most, in marketing and restaurant buildout.”**

**With this need for marketing and restaurant buildout support in mind, Modi and his family of business partners headed to Maryland to meet** **the brand’s corporate team** **to further deepen the conversation.**

**“We also got to try the food and once we left, we knew this was what we were looking for,” Modi said. We’d looked at several different restaurants among our family over the years, so once we went through the discovery day process, we knew Cal Tort was the right one for us.**

**Now, Modi excited to be kicking off California Tortilla’s ambitious development plans for Tennessee. Beyond Chattanooga, the brand sees the potential for the Nashville metro area to hold as many as 12 restaurants, while Memphis could support 10 and Knoxville could support another six.**

**“It’s exciting to be establishing our presence in an entirely new state like Tennessee in partnership with such a seasoned entrepreneur,” said California Tortilla Director of Franchise Development Aaron Goldberg. “Not only does Divyesh have ample business experience, but he’s also intimately familiar with the Chattanooga community—two qualities California Tortilla really values in a franchise partner. We’re looking forward to introducing ourselves to the Chattanooga market and continuing to grow the brand throughout Tennessee with the help of like-minded multi-unit and multi-concept operators in Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville, as well.”**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Tennessee (location)
- market expansion (topic)
- restaurant development (topic)
- franchise partnership (topic)
- California Tortilla (company)
- Chattanooga (location)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/california-tortilla-enters-the-tennessee-market-in-partnership-with-a-seasoned-chattanooga-business-owner-2711647). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/7a86b315-05f7-4b71-b139-834136f10b2a).