---
title: "Taco John’s announces the biggest franchise agreement in the brand’s history"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/f818f844-16a1-473b-8d6d-e0ee11ead55b
source: "Global Franchise"
original_url: https://www.global-franchise.com/news/taco-johns-announces-the-biggest-franchise-agreement-in-the-brands-history
author: "Raghav Patel"
category: "Mexican"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Mexican"
published: 2021-08-19T09:05:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T16:23:55.545Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1555396273-367ea4eb4db5?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# Taco John’s announces the biggest franchise agreement in the brand’s history

**TL;DR:** Taco John's has signed a franchise agreement with Meritage Hospitality Group to develop 50 new locations by March 2026, with an option to build 150 more. Meritage is the largest Wendy's franchisee group.

*By Raghav Patel, originally published in Global Franchise on 2021-08-19. [Read the original](https://www.global-franchise.com/news/taco-johns-announces-the-biggest-franchise-agreement-in-the-brands-history).*

## Key facts

- Taco John's signs 50-unit deal with Meritage
- Meritage is the largest Wendy's franchisee
- Taco John's has over 380 locations

## Story

Taco John’s has signed the biggest franchise agreement in its history with Meritage Hospitality Group, which is the largest Wendy’s franchisee group. As per the agreement, Meritage will develop 50 new Taco John’s locations by March 2026, and have the option to build a further 150 restaurants.

This should come as no surprise as Taco John’s earlier in the year stated it’s intentions to expand its presence across key markets across the U.S.

## Partnership details

“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.”

“This is historic for our brand,” said Brooks Speirs, vice president for franchise development. “As we begin our aggressive growth into new markets, there is no better partner than Meritage.

“While getting to know the group, I’ve been impressed with the organizational infrastructure, attention to detail, commitment to people, operations capabilities and development of top-notch restaurants. The best is yet to come for Taco John’s!”

## Brand performance

Taco John’s has established itself in the Mexican quick-service sector, and insulated itself against the pandemic with strong drive-thru activity, representing 65 per cent of systemwide sales.

“Over the last few years, we have been building fantastic momentum,” said Jim Creel, president and CEO of Taco John’s.

“As a 50-plus year-old brand we knew we needed a modern look to energize our current locations. At the same time, we have elevated our executive team and board. Our evolution has helped us become an even more appealing investment to large multi-unit operators.

“The agreement with Meritage is a capstone moment, illuminating all the hard work the Taco John’s team has put in place.”

Since launching in 1969, Taco John’s has grown to over 380 locations in 22 states.

## Entities

- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- Global Franchise (publication)
- franchise agreement (topic)
- Wendy's (company)
- Raghav Patel (person)
- Taco John's (company)
- qsr growth (topic)
- Jim Creel (person)
- Meritage Hospitality Group (company)
- Brooks Speirs (person)

---
Originally reported by Raghav Patel, Global Franchise (https://www.global-franchise.com/news/taco-johns-announces-the-biggest-franchise-agreement-in-the-brands-history). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f818f844-16a1-473b-8d6d-e0ee11ead55b).