VANCOUVER, Wash. – Rodolfo Sanchez seems to be modeling his company’s expansion after the quick service of his Muchas Gracias restaurants.
The ingredients?
“Determination and hard work,” said Sanchez, through his Spanish language interpreter and consultant, Cefar Chavez.
An amiable businessman with a warm smile, Sanchez, 43, apologized for his limited English skills. He’s still mastering the language, Chavez said. However, Sanchez understands the philosophy of establishing market dominance through expansion.
Based in Vancouver since 1997, Muchas Gracias Mexican Food has grown from a single fast-food restaurant to a chain of more than 40 franchised operations throughout Washington and Oregon.
“We expect to open 10 more places in the two states within four months,” Sanchez said.
The startups in newer retail developments represent a turning point for his business, said Sanchez, who founded his first Muchas Gracias in a defunct Taco Time restaurant in 1993 in St. Helens, Ore. He moved the concept and headquarters north to Vancouver in 1997, transforming a former Taco Bell, a Hazel Dell A&W and downtown Vancouver’s former Spic’n Span drive-up into Muchas Gracias restaurants. Taking over vacant standalone sites helped keep start-up costs low, Sanchez said.
“As we’ve been growing, we have been accepted in other areas, including shopping centers,” he said. Franchise owners, who pay a $100,000 fee, determine where they’ll locate. Launching the new franchise from a vacated restaurant can cost between $70,000 and $80,000, Chavez said.
Sanchez said he spent the past two years converting Muchas Gracias to the franchise model and is now set for exponential growth. The eatery’s San Diego-influenced menu features meat-stuffed burritos, chimichangas and fish tacos.
The Muchas Gracias fast-service concept, in which counter workers relay orders in rapid-fire Spanish, “is very successful in the Anglo community,” Sanchez said.
While franchise opportunities are open to everyone, Sanchez said all new Muchas Gracias owners are of Latino descent.
“Most are Mexican-American, but some are from Central, South and Latin America,” he said.
Experts say franchising will minimize risks to new business owners, especially inexperienced restaurateurs.
“They receive a pre-written business plan, which makes it easier,” said James Steiner, a business development specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Portland office. “What you’re paying for is branding, logos, uniforms and designs – everything is pre-made. It’s also easier to get a small-business loan.”
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