Fuzzy’s Taco Shop To Meet with Future Franchise Partners—and Celebrate National Taco Day—at Franchise Expo Houston

Laid-back, Baja vibes-filled taco joint Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is fixin’ to expand in Texas.

With almost 150 locations across the United States and 70 more in development, the Texas-based brand has made a name for itself thanks to its tasty food, chill atmosphere and exceptionally awesome customer service—not to mention the famous chips and queso—and is now ready to expand even further across the Lone Star State.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop already has a proven record of success in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan area, with more than 50 units in that market. Now, the brand wants to capitalize on that success and is seeking work-hard, play-harder franchisees who want to open locations in the Austin, Houston and San Antonio markets.

As part of its expansion efforts, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop will attend Franchise Expo Houston on October 4 and 5. The expo will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Downtown Houston.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Chief Development Officer Michael Mabry and Franchise Sales Manager Andie Smirl will be onsite to meet with prospective franchisees and answer questions about the franchise opportunity.

The brand’s Texas expansion approach is similar to its ongoing Chicagoland development strategy. Bottom line: It’s all about finding the right partners. Whether prospective franchisees want to open Fuzzy’s Taco Shop locations within the cities of Austin, Houston and San Antonio or their outlying suburbs, the brand is absolutely open to having a conversation.

“The most important thing is finding the right partner who has a desire to be a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop franchisee. They have to first try it out, and they have to love the experience,” Mabry said. “Growing our franchise system is mainly about bringing in a franchisee who gets what we're about. Once you're in, we provide all the support from real estate selection with CBRE, to tracking out each city with Forum Analytics.”

Mabry noted that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is a unique franchise in the sense that many franchisees started off as enthusiastic customers who loved the brand so much they decided to join it.

“Our fans don’t just buy our tacos; they buy franchises,” Mabry said. “That’s really the basis of who we are. People have come to our restaurants and were moved by that experience. They can envision themselves happily wearing the Fuzzy’s Taco Shop logo.”

Prospective franchisees who plan to attend Franchise Expo Houston and meet with Fuzzy’s Taco Shop leaders should prepare by becoming familiar with the brand and its values.

“People should know who we are,” Mabry said. “They should also check out our new franchise development website.”

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is also doing something unique at Franchise Expo Houston: celebrating National Taco Day. The annual celebration falls on October 4, and prospective franchisees at the expo will have a chance to win a year’s worth of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop tacos.

“Since we’ll be there on National Taco Day, we wanted to make sure we talk about it and do something fun,” Mabry said. “So, on that Friday, if you come by the booth and get scanned, you’ll be entered into a raffle for free tacos for a year.”

The brand will celebrate National Taco Day across the franchise system the day before on October 3. Much like how people celebrate New Year’s Eve, the brand is getting a head start and celebrating what it refers to as National Taco Day’s Eve.

“All locations will sell select Baja tacos for $1 all day long for our dine-in guests on October 3. We love being able to give something back to our guests on our favorite day of the year – and to introduce new guests to Fuzzy’s,” Vice President of Marketing Laura Purser said.

It’s important for the brand to show its face at Franchise Expo Houston, in addition to other franchise expos across the country. Prospective franchisees may be doing more and more preliminary research online before they connect with a brand, which is fine with Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, but the Fuzzy’s team wants to make sure it takes every opportunity to showcase its offerings to guests and franchisees alike.

“Our president, Mel Knight, built the culture of this brand on providing that face-to-face, human relationship,” Mabry said. “We are here to take that torch from Mel and emulate how he’s conducted business over the last 15 years. I’m a huge believer that businesses are built on relationships and relationships are built on trust; the only way to build trust is face-to-face."

Mabry believes Fuzzy’s Taco Shop will continue to do well in the Lone Star State, both with its existing locations and its future locations in new markets. After all, this isn’t the brand’s first rodeo.

“Born here, best here,” Mabry said. “We are a Texas brand that can be, and has been, successful outside of Texas borders, but we know the magic of home. With more franchisees, we can continue to hold our home state as the brand’s powerhouse. It’s a proven fact that there are taco lovers in the Austin, Houston and San Antonio markets. The time is now.”