Pancheros Mexican Grill is looking to expand its presence in New Jersey.

Amid a nationwide expansion effort, the fast casual Tex-Mex chain is making the Garden State one of its top-priority markets for growth.

Pancheros entered New Jersey in 2008. Since, the franchise has launched 10 restaurants. A second location in Marlton is also set to open in September, a company spokesperson said.

Founded in Iowa in 1992, Pancheros is known for fresh-pressed tortillas as well as burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads. Nationally, the brand has 70-plus eateries across 13 states.

According to Pancheros, New Jersey is a key market for several reasons, including:

• A 12-month average of 35.64% of total sales coming from digital sales, higher than the system average for its restaurants in all other markets (29.17%);
• The state boasts nearly 12% of all loyalty members (more than 90,000 of the total 790,000);
• Over the past year, Garden State locations had a 23.68% loyalty member participation rate, higher than both the system average (23.46%) and the industry average (12.56%).

Building cred

Pancheros credits the growth to a robust franchising program that sets up locations for success. It also recognized its franchisees, saying they’ve put their market knowledge and experience to work building “credibility for Pancheros in the Northeast.”

The push comes as Pancheros sees rising brand-wide sales for a fourth year in a row. In 2023, the average unit volume was around $1.56 million.

In Franchise Times’ 2023 list of 400 fastest-growing franchises, Pancheros joined Jersey Shore-born Bubbakoo’s Burritos in leading growth in the Mexican category. The latter, which launched in 2008, has more than 100 locations across 16 states.

Pancheros founder and President Rodney Anderson believes his brand’s success stems from continuing efforts to capitalize on digital innovation and strategic marketing tactics to boost its loyalty programs. He also noted upgrades, such as the rollout of second-make lines in new and remodeled stores as well as adding mobile pick-up windows.

The company will focus on filling gaps in existing and new markets, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Pancheros says it wants to partner with experienced operators and developers who understand their markets and can build on the system of thriving franchisees.

No immediate openings were disclosed in New Jersey, but a spokesperson said Pancheros is surveying potential sites.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after Pancheros notified NJBIZ that its Marlton location is now set to open in September and that it was founded in 1992, not 22 years ago as previously stated.

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