Dillas Quesadillas was always supposed to be a successful chain; it looked the part from day one.
It’s just taken a bit longer than its founders expected to realize its potential.
When Kyle Gordon opened the first Dillas in 2013, he leaned into his years in management at Raising Cane’s to set the brand up for success, with systems, tools, and branding that resembled that of major chains. Gordon’s wife and cofounder, Maggie Gordon, said they believed Dillas could own the quesadilla category and scale to dozens, if not hundreds, of locations, so they designed the brand with that growth in mind.
“Everything has scale in mind for us, so whenever we build any system, it’s not, ‘Is this what we need today?’ It’s, ‘Is this what we need at 20 locations, 50 locations, 100 locations?’” she said. “Because we’re not in the mindset of redoing things.”
She added that Dillas was so sophisticated out of the gate that some locals visiting the first couple of locations assumed it was a big brand that had come from California or somewhere else.
“They assumed we were another national brand that just hadn’t hit town yet,” she said.
And while Dillas has grown to 11 locations in 13 years, its expansion hasn’t been quite as robust as the Gordons expected.
Now that might change. Dillas doubled down on franchising earlier this year and recently promoted industry veteran Michael Mabry to COO to prepare for growth. The leadership team has also refined the menu and operations over the years to ensure that Dillas can sustain growth once it takes off.
“We’re kind of at the point where we feel like it’s ready to go,” Maggie Gordon said. “We’ve been working on it a long time. And we’re ready to see this thing hockey stick a little bit more.”
She joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to talk about that refinement process and how she and Kyle have evolved Dillas even while sticking to their original vision.
In this conversation, you’ll learn more about why:
-
When opening a new concept, don’t start with a blank playbook
-
Stay laser-focused on your vision — even if it means saying no to customers
-
Punch above your weight from day one because customers will notice
-
If growth is your goal, make every decision with scale in mind
-
Recognize your blind spots as a founder or leader and hire to fill them
Contact Sam Oches at [email protected].
