--- title: "Largest Wendy's Franchisee Adding Taco John's To Portfolio" url: https://burnaze.com/article/8aebe404-192b-4e53-825b-206c9b6202ed source: "Franchising.com" original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/wendys_largest_franchisee_adding_taco_johns_to_portfolio.html author: "Kerry Pipes" category: "Burger" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Burger" published: 2021-08-23T12:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:21:46.643Z image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/6208_plate.jpg --- # Largest Wendy's Franchisee Adding Taco John's To Portfolio **TL;DR:** Meritage Hospitality Group, the largest Wendy's franchisee, has signed a development agreement with Taco John's to build 50 new restaurants by 2026. The company currently owns and operates 345 Wendy's locations across 16 states. *By Kerry Pipes, originally published in Franchising.com on 2021-08-23. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/wendys_largest_franchisee_adding_taco_johns_to_portfolio.html).* ## Story The largest Wendy’s franchisee in America, Meritage Hospitality Group, has just signed a mega development agreement with QSR Mexican restaurant brand Taco John’s. Under the agreement, Meritage Hospitality will build 50 new Taco John’s restaurants by 2026 with options to develop an additional 150 restaurants. The deal is the biggest franchise agreement in Taco John’s history. “Taco John’s is the perfect fit for our company. While exploring concepts to expand our portfolio, we were quickly attracted to Taco John’s,” said Gary Rose, president and COO of Meritage Hospitality Group. “We are excited about the Mexican restaurant segment and the bigger, bolder, better direction of the brand. We’re excited to open our first restaurants near our headquarters in west Michigan in 2022.” Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meritage Hospitality Group is no stranger to big franchise deals. The company currently owns and operates 345 Wendy’s locations across 16 states and employs more than 11,000 people. Taco John’s now has more than 380 stores open across 22 states. - Get Started in Franchising - Franchise Rankings & Awards - Franchise Sales & Development - Featured Franchise Stories Franchising.com is produced by Franchise Update Media. Franchise Update Media has its finger on the pulse of franchising with unrivalled audience intelligence and market driven data. No media company understands the franchise landscape deeper than Franchise Update Media. 1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 300A Washington, DC 20005 PH. (408) 402-5681 - Franchisee Financing & Lending - Site Selection & Real Estate - Supply Chain & Procurement - Annual Franchise Development Report - Multi-Unit Franchising Conference - Franchise Growth & Marketing Conference - Franchise Leadership & Development Conference - Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine - Franchise Update Magazine - Franchise Update Franchisor Report - Franchising Express Report - International Franchise Report - Multi-Unit Franchisee Report The multi-unit franchise opportunities listed above are not related to or endorsed by Multi-Unit Franchisee or Franchise Update Media Group. We are not engaged in, supporting, or endorsing any specific franchise, business opportunity, company or individual. No statement in this site is to be construed as a recommendation. We encourage prospective franchise buyers to perform extensive due diligence when considering a franchise opportunity. ## Entities - Franchising.com (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - unit expansion (topic) - franchise agreement (topic) - Wendy's (company) - Kerry Pipes (person) - Taco John's (company) - Meritage Hospitality Group (company) - Meritage Hospitality Group investment in Taco John's (deal) - mexican restaurant segment (topic) --- Originally reported by Kerry Pipes, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/wendys_largest_franchisee_adding_taco_johns_to_portfolio.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/8aebe404-192b-4e53-825b-206c9b6202ed).