If you think Dillas Quesadillas is just another quick-service restaurant serving melty handhelds, think again. For co-founders Maggie and Kyle Gordon, this isn’t about building another fast-food chain. It’s about building community through food — and they’ve spent the past 12 years refining every inch of their business to do just that.

In a recent episode of “Meet the Franchisor” with 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills, the Gordons shared their journey from bootstrapping a single unit to launching a franchise system rooted in operational excellence, obsessive culture and people-first principles. 

A transcript of their interview has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.

Nick Powills: All right. One scripted question, then we’ll just talk. The two of you, Maggie and Kyle — and you might want to do it separately — but whoever wants to go first, tell me your accidental franchise story. How did you guys fall into franchising?

Maggie Gordon: Honestly, we didn’t think we wanted to franchise the company at all. Kyle had spent seven or eight years at Raising Cane’s. After he left, one of his favorite district managers — who had also been his boss — stayed friends with him. That guy had left Cane’s, went into insurance or something, and came back after a visit and said, “Man, I’ve got to get back in the game. I need to get into restaurants. Please let me do something with you at Dillas because I love what you’re doing.”

And we were like, “No way!” This was back in 2018 — about five years after we had started Dillas — so it was still pretty early on.

Kyle Gordon: Yeah, and we didn’t think there was any way we could support him in Louisiana. But he really wanted to make it happen, so we made a deal — and there we were: little mini franchisors.

Maggie: Yep. Starting out not knowing much about it.

Kyle: But it was awesome. You learn quickly. And I think our values were aligned with franchising. We realized, “Oh wow — we’re serving Pete,” — that’s his name, Pete at Primo Restaurant Group — “just like we serve our own restaurants.” He needed the same stuff: things break, problems come up. But we got to help develop him as a business owner, which kind of served our passion. Like you said, the accounting — all the things he hadn’t had to do before. It was exciting to share our knowledge and help him grow.

Maggie: And we looked at each other and thought, “Hey, we’re already supporting one franchisee. We’ve committed. So why not share this beyond just Pete and beyond just our local vision for the brand?” We’re passionate about people, culture-first and we want to make an impact. We want to be in a lot of different communities — so why limit it to just what we’re doing in DFW?

Nick: Okay, so your friend comes in, you get unit one going, and then say, “Okay, now we’re going to franchise this thing.” That changes your perspective. What were your expectations then? I think a lot about how emerging franchisors are created — sometimes because consultants sell a big dream. Were you thinking, “I want to have 100 units in five years?” Or was it more like, “We don’t know the dream yet”? Take me back to that moment and then talk about how the journey has unfolded.

Kyle: The dream for the business in general has always been to be the brand for primo quesadilla meals, so our vision was always big. But as we went on, we wanted to focus more on our purpose — building community through primo quesadilla meals. So we thought, “Okay, if we’re really going to do that, let’s set a target — let’s aim to deliver the goods in 150 communities.” That became our 10-year target.

And then two years ago, we said, “Okay, if that’s true, what do we need to do?” So we hired people — consultants, trusted mentors — and they said, “You need a rock-solid [Franchise Disclosure Document]. You need to do this and that.” And we started going through that process — laying the foundation and groundwork. We’ve been in business for 12 years now, and the restaurants are rock-solid.

Maggie: We’ve built deep verticals in manpower, culture, operations, training, financial performance, topline revenue — all the critical drivers. So now it was like, “How do we apply that and invite others in to scale and make a bigger impact?”

Kyle: And to your question, Nick, we had to shift our mindset. Supporting one franchisee is kind of like an extension of yourself. But we realized the franchise side of the business needed to be its own complete entity — its own structure, its own marketing, its own budget. We were no longer just running one business — we had two babies now.

Maggie: We’re the only quesadilla-focused QSR, so we were like, “Let’s go!” We’ve got to get to market and dominate this niche. And we want operators who are just as passionate as we are — about the product and the people who are going to power it.

Nick: What you both said is important to call out. I think about so many businesses that franchise, and they’re told, “Get an FDD done.” Not a great FDD — just check the box. Then, “Get an ops manual.” Which — do people even read the ops manual? No.

So you build those two things. But no one tells you to go do the hard work — the things you mentioned: supply chain, customer experience, training, how you treat staff, how you market for more customers. Nobody says, “Go build the franchise growth manual.”

So now you say, “We’re a franchise,” and you kind of sit there thinking, “Well, we have a website… maybe someone will want to come in?” But it takes the same effort as building the original business. It’s like building business two. That’s where I think things get misaligned. You might say, “We want to serve 150 communities,” but then you have to ask, “Where’s the plan?” That’s where Traction or EOS can help.

So my question is: Now that you’ve had that aha moment — “We franchised, but maybe we didn’t treat it like a business” — and now that you’re putting the systems in place, has your outlook changed? Does the dream feel possible again?

Kyle: Absolutely. The other thing is, it really requires a team —a dedication to building out the service component. Maggie and I are a big part of vetting. We want to talk to the people who are going to be working with us every day. We want people who are obsessed with making primo quesadillas at QSR — who want to make this the next big national brand. That takes a different type of person. That takes real dedication.

Maggie: And I mean, I don’t want to sound self-congratulatory, but we care a lot. We’re good people. If we’re going to bring someone into this, we want to do it at a really high level. So we said, “We still have a little more work to do. Let’s go work on it. Let’s get this simplified menu rolled out. Let’s get the chicken product just right so it’s scalable.” So much of our work has been on manpower, culture, operations, financials, marketing — and we want to be great at all of it before we ask someone to go on this journey with us.

Kyle: Honestly, that work was about building our confidence — making sure we could support people at the level they deserve. We wanted to be able to say, “Hell yeah, let’s do this,” and mean it.

But that required a mindset shift. We had to detach a little bit from daily company operations and focus on our new customer: the franchisee. That’s who we’re marketing to, selling to, supporting. Our end-user is still important, but our primary customer now is the franchise owner.

Maggie: Right. We’ve been so passionate about building out the restaurant infrastructure, and now that passion is shifting to the franchise infrastructure. We’ve always had great onboarding for our restaurant team, but now we’re applying that same care to onboarding our franchisees.

We want people to come into our system and say, “Wow, this place runs at a high level.” And we want that culture — the franchisee/franchisor relationship — to reflect what we’ve built in our stores. If you’re going to do something, do it great. That’s how we’re approaching franchising.

Nick: One thing I noticed on your website — your top-selling items on DoorDash are french fries and quesadillas. That’s incredible. It’s crazy to me that this category hasn’t already been defined around those two products. Why do you think that is?

Kyle: Don’t tell anybody!

Nick: Haha. But seriously — if I simplify it, it’s like Orangetheory. For so long, people thought, “I should just open a big gym with everything.” But then someone said, “Let’s just do group interval training.” And they crushed it. It’s the same in fitness with CycleBar and others. They extracted a specific product from the big box.

Is that what’s happening here? Is it that most restaurant owners’ egos say, “Let’s offer everything,” instead of focusing on doing one thing great?

Maggie: I think that’s a fair take. While we do focus on quesadillas, it’s really just a vehicle. We offer a wide range of flavors — American comfort food, Southern flavors, things everyone resonates with. It’s not just Mexican food. So even though we focus on one product, we have a wide optionality of flavor.

Kyle: And with our new simplified menu, we leaned into the data. Fries are our number one seller, along with quesadillas. So now, every meal includes fries and a drink. We’re simplifying the decision-making process and making sure people leave happy.

Nick: One more question on that before we move on. Maggie, I’m putting you on the spot. You said something really interesting — when flavors are the focus, frequency increases. Guests can come in multiple times a week based on where their flavor profile is at. Do you have any data that supports that? Like, does a customer come in and get one thing one day, then something different the next?

Maggie: It’s hard to get that granular at our size, but most often, people are creatures of habit. We hear that from our team members all the time. People come in and know exactly what they want. That’s more common. They get hooked on one thing and are almost afraid to try something else.

But then you have customers who customize something different every time. They’re the creative type. They enjoy the creativity of making their own meal.

We launched our loyalty app relatively recently and started extracting data — and it’s been incredible. We use a platform called Thanks. So the ability to dig into segmentation and trends like that is definitely right at our fingertips now.

Kyle: I’ll add this. At Cane’s, when I was there, we went from 35 to about 135 locations. That gave me a lot of validation and insight. I tried to absorb everything I could about what it takes to run a great restaurant — and more importantly, a great restaurant culture.

What I brought from Cane’s to Dillas was the obsession with execution. Operational excellence. That’s my thing. We have a cravable product, but it has to be done right every single time. People come for consistency. Great service. High-quality, restaurant-grade quesadillas.

We cook our quesadillas in a way that nobody else does — not even close. That level of quality combined with speed — that’s the magic. That’s what we’ve got.

Maggie: Every quesadilla is grilled to order. We don’t even start assembling it until the customer places the order. There’s no bucket of pre-made quesadillas sitting in the back.

Kyle: And that’s what gets me excited. We’ve got the convenience side nailed. Now it’s about meeting the customer where they are. Right now, people are driving five, six, seven, eight miles just to get to us. But if we can get closer to them, build more units — that’s when we’re really going to take off.

Nick: I love that. Let me give a bad example to contrast. I think about the “better burger” category — and I won’t name names — but the magic was in the simplicity: burgers, fries and shakes. That’s what McDonald’s did early on. That’s what Cane’s does. Simplicity of decision-making.

But then ego creeps in. Brands start adding hot dogs, then bowls, then salads… and suddenly the operations become chaotic. That chaos trickles down to the franchisee. And that’s when scale falls apart.

So I guess my point is — with your seven years at Cane’s, does that become your north star? That it’s not about the widget — the quesadilla and fries — but about building a scalable operational infrastructure that drives the brand forward?

Kyle: Yes. Because we’re people first and we’re ops first. You said it perfectly — the widget has to be produced perfectly every time. But in today’s labor market, it can’t be overly complicated. You can’t put 19 gears on it.

We’ve designed our processes to be simple. We call it “time to train” — and ours is low. The systems are simple, but the ingredients are fresh and high-quality. So it’s easy to pick up, but still delivers a primo product.

Maggie: We do a lot of fresh prep, but the steps are simple. And now we’re leveraging AI — for prep tools, for scheduling platforms. We’re trying to build a brand that’s ahead of the curve on tech, not catching up.

Kyle: That frees up your leaders. Shift leaders can be out front with the guests instead of stuck in the back. They can be the oil in the machine instead of another gear. And that attracts better leaders — the kind who want to lead, not just work a position.

That’s what makes the box run. Great GMs support great shift leaders. Great shift leaders support great teams. And those teams deliver amazing experiences to our guests.

Maggie: Everything we do is about making it easier and more efficient — for both the team and the customer. That’s why we did the menu simplification. It all works together for speed and quality.

Nick: I imagine that’s why Cane’s didn’t franchise for a long time — control. They knew if they owned it, they could say, “This is how it’s done. Period.” That non-negotiable stance is harder with franchisees.

So let me flip the question: How do you protect your brand as you grow through franchising? How do you vet operators to make sure they’re not just buying a brand, but buying into operational excellence?

Kyle: I’ll take this one. Pulling back the curtain a little — Cane’s actually did have some franchising pockets early on to expand the brand. We might limit our growth in a similar way. We want exceptional operators growing multiple locations — not a bunch of operators each running one unit. That’s one part of it.

The other part is that we’ve been doing this for 12 years. The gaps in our system aren’t wide anymore. Everything is built out. If you talk to anyone behind the scenes at Dillas, if you’ve seen our intranet, our processes, our procedures — it’s all locked in.

The last thing a franchisee wants to do is worry about figuring out operations or being overly creative. They shouldn’t have to. They should be focused on driving topline sales, connecting with their community and looking at ways to manage their costs and labor effectively.

We see profit in two ways: growth and giving. If we help franchisees grow their top line and give them a great system, they’ll have surplus — and then they can grow more units and also give back. Whether that’s to their local high school, their church or wherever — that’s what creates great business owners. That’s what creates community.

Maggie: We don’t want to just be “a restaurant in the community.” We want to be the community’s restaurant. That’s the kind of impact we’re going for.

Nick: That’s a great answer. And yeah, I’ve been around franchising long enough to get it. It’s about trusting the process. When candidates come train with you and get immersed with your team, they see how and why it works. They have to believe in it.

Kyle: Exactly. And when they do, they can create something that’s predictable. And predictability in restaurants? That’s the holy grail. You don’t want this crazy, up-and-down experience where you don’t know what to expect next week.

Maggie: Right. That kind of instability — it only happens when people panic. Something goes wrong and they jump to a new strategy. That’s not how we do it. Stick to the playbook. Create predictable experiences. That’s what builds topline — and when you build the top, the bottom follows.

Nick: Here’s a quick story. I once worked with a founder and convinced them to give something away — like literally a free product. The average ticket doubled. Giving creates momentum. It’s the same with giving back to a church or a school — it comes back to you.

Now let me ask: Have you ever had someone approach you to buy in, and you had to say no? What made you say no?

Kyle: Oh, yeah — I’ve got a specific example. We’re looking for passionate operators. Hopefully you can tell that operations are really important to me.

You need to have some level of acumen — you have to want to operate a restaurant. It’s not an easy business. These things take years to build, and the leases alone are 10 to 15 years. You’re committing to something big.

We’ve worked too hard to just say yes to anyone. We have the luxury of being selective. It’s not that we don’t have time or desire to coach someone — we do — but we’re far ahead of that “just getting started” stage. We feel like we’ve earned the right to work with operators who meet us where we are.

We want to open strong, well-vetted, great locations with people who speak our language. We don’t want to spend all our time onboarding people who’ve never opened a restaurant before.

Maggie: Yeah. I think of it in terms of intent. Some people see Dillas as a vehicle — they’ve got some extra money or want passive income. Or they think it’s a real estate play. And that’s just not aligned with our core values.

Kyle: Especially because Maggie and I are restaurant freaks. We’re sponges. We love learning from the best. There are a lot of bad playbooks out there, but the good ones? They’re all about being methodical.

Those first franchisees — they make all the difference. You’re in the trenches with them. So make smart decisions early. Build that solid foundation. If we do that, we’ll attract best-in-class operators — and that’ll align perfectly with our best-in-class product and culture.

Nick: Philosophically, here’s the hardest challenge: You’ve got a great business. And that means the best operators — the ones with hustle and grit — they’d probably be perfect. But they often don’t have the capital.

You bootstrapped. You had to hustle. But now, you need franchisees who have both hustle and money. That’s the hard disconnect.

Kyle: Totally agree. I’d categorize Pete at Primo Restaurant Group as a dreamer. He was like, “Let’s see how one goes.” He had great sales, but he didn’t mortgage his house to do this. He partnered with someone who brought capital while he brought the passion and operational expertise.

Now he’s got five locations. He’s built his own support office. He’s scaling it just like we are.

That’s the ideal scenario — a dreamer who has capital behind them. Or who finds a partner who does. We’re honest and upfront: this is a capital-intensive business. Sometimes it takes time. The right partner — or the right team — can make it happen.

Maggie: It’s usually a duo or a group. Someone brings the financial backing, and someone brings the operational chops. And that works for us — as long as the operator is really in it, really running the show.

Nick: I’ve seen that. People with money tend to bet on people they believe in. And the dreamers? They usually attract that belief. That’s where the magic happens — when those people find each other.

What I want to close with — just in case someone’s watching this — what’s the dream now for you guys? What happens next?

Kyle: It’s really about scaling the franchise business now. We’re building out a team to pursue growth, and we’re still excited about growing company-owned locations here in DFW. We’ve got six right now, and a couple more under contract.

We think there’s still an awesome opportunity to continue on the path that our franchisees are on — meaning, as they’re scouting real estate, so are we. It helps us stay sharp, and it also helps us support them better because we’re walking the same road.

I’m really excited to start working with new franchisees — reviewing real estate with them, diving into the nitty-gritty. Like, “OK, we found a site. Now what?” That stuff fires me up — getting into it with people who are excited to bring Dillas to their communities.

Maggie: Yeah, we’re ready to bring Dillas to more communities. We feel like we have such a cool, unique product, and the brand is very community-oriented. So to be able to share that with more people — our people, our food, our culture — that’s what excites us. It’s something really special, and we’re ready to grow.

Nick: No doubt. And I’ll close with two things. One — I remember in the early 2000s when Five Guys was blowing up. Everyone called it an overnight success, but they were founded in 1984. It took time. And two — this quote I’ll never forget: The founder of Panda Express bought into Tide Cleaners. It didn’t end up working out, but when asked why, he said, “Because I don’t want to miss the next McDonald’s.”

So I say both of those things because, one — 12 years of hard work is exactly the kind of business I’d be interested in buying into. And two — you’re looking for people who want to bring Dillas to their communities. And when you do that, you’re going to scale — which means the next person who calls might be told, “No.”

And if I throw in the fact that you’re still investing in the business corporately? That’s a huge sign. As a buyer, I’d want to know how much the founders are reinvesting. In your case, it’s obvious you’re all in.

All in all — awesome story. Maggie and Kyle, thank you so much for sharing some of it with me today.

Watch the full interview here. 

To learn more about franchising with Dillas Quesadillas, visit https://dillas.com/franchise.