Largest Jack in the Box Franchisee Acquires Nick the Greek Fast Casual Franchise Concept

Nick the Greek, the 48-unit Greek restaurant chain, has officially been acquired by YTG Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of the largest domestic Jack in the Box franchisee, the company announced Monday.

"We were looking to invest in another growth-oriented franchisor, and Nick the Greek is the perfect fit," said Anil Yadav, CEO of YTG’s parent company Yadav Enterprises Inc. “The food is delicious, differentiated and loved by our guests. The operations are simple and scalable, and the brand has a genuine authenticity driven by its Greek founders, who will continue to run the company on a day-to-day basis. We have been overwhelmed by inquiries from potential franchisees since news of our partnership has spread!”

This marks the second acquisition for Yadav, who is the largest Jack in the Box franchisee in the U.S., with about 230 units. Last year, his company acquired the then-85-unit Taco Cabana chain, with plans to grow that brand as a franchisor. YTG also owns Denny's and TGI Friday's franchise locations, bringing the portfolio to a total of about 600 restaurants.

Moving forward, Nick the Greek will still be run by its founders — three cousins all named Nick Tsigaris — who retained a substantial minority stake in the company. “We hit a point when we reached about 50 units and sat down to discuss it, and we decided to work with a strategic partner to help facilitate our growth and expand more rapidly and avoid missteps that can happen along the way,” said co-founder and president “Big” Nick Tsigaris. “This is our first go-round with franchising, and we’ve heard stories about how things can go wrong.”

Founded in 2014, Nick the Greek has expanded its footprint to include 39 franchise locations and nine corporate locations, mostly in California. The chain recently opened locations in Nevada and Missouri and has about 70 units currently under development in Arizona, Utah and Texas. The chain earns roughly $1.5 million in systemwide AUV.