Dillas Quesadillas Franchise Growth: Michael Mabry Leads New Strategy

Dillas Primo Quesadillas, the 11-unit quesadilla franchise, is focused on deliberate growth as it scales. To guide this careful expansion, it brought Michael Mabry onto the leadership team. Mabry, who has prior experience with brands like MOOYAH and Fuzzy’s, was drawn to Dillas thanks to his longstanding friendship with founders Maggie and Kyle Gordon. He also brings a deep excitement for the brand’s growth strategy.

“When you’re a corporate store operator, your ultimate customer is the customer that walks into each individual unit. When you’re a franchisor, your customer is the franchisee,” Mabry told Franchise Times. “We’re starting to have that paradigm they look through so that we’ve got all the systems built, we’ve got the appropriate people in place, and we’ve got the appropriate strategy.”

Mabry is drawing on decades of experience to help Dillas avoid the usual growth missteps. He is the first to say he does not have all the answers, but the lessons he has picked up over the years give him a clear sense of what to watch for, and he plans to use that perspective to help Dillas grow in a steady, disciplined way.

This philosophy will place a high premium on attention to detail, which he describes as the company’s “secret sauce.”

As the brand grows, Mabry is committed to balancing the excitement of the experience with realistic expectations and a continued focus on quality, not just quantity.

“What do we want to say out in the ether that’s going to attract the right type of individual to look at the brand?” Mabry asked. “I’m a big believer of ‘don’t mistake activity for accomplishment.’ While of course we want people to know we’re growing, we want the right people to know we’re growing.”