For many professionals in white-collar and corporate roles, the rise of AI is raising an urgent question about career relevance. But where others see a threat, Kyle Gordon, co-founder of Dillas Quesadillas, sees a historic opening for a new wave of business owners. He believes that as AI reshapes how companies operate and teams are built, it is creating a new moment for franchising.
“I see AI right now eating both ends of the economy — the warehouse jobs at the bottom and the white-collar jobs at the top,” said Gordon,” That's what makes it different from past technologies.”
That erosion, Gordon said, is forcing people to rethink the traditional career ladder. “Everybody’s focused on the next one or two years,” Gordon said. “But that goes by super quick. If you’re not preparing right now for being able to leverage AI somehow, you’re going to be in trouble.”
As traditional employment becomes less predictable, Gordon expects more people to explore entrepreneurship. But he also believes AI will change what kind of entrepreneurship feels attractive.
AI has made it easier than ever to start a business quickly. A person can generate a website, business plan, brand concept, marketing copy or sales deck in a matter of hours. But Gordon said that does not automatically create a durable company.
“AI is making it really easy to start your own business now,” he said. “You can start a business in one night with AI. But is it a moated business?”
According to Gordon, that question is critical. In a world where anyone can generate a concept, trust becomes more valuable. Businesses with real-world assets, human connection, community relevance and operational depth may become more attractive because they are harder to replicate.
“I think the new currency is going to be trust,” Gordon said. “It’s going to be how quickly you can build trust in something. Starting fresh and having nothing and building from there, I think, is going to be very difficult.”
For professionals interested in ownership but not in building a business from the ground up, franchising offers a different route. Gordon said the model can be especially powerful because it combines entrepreneurship with structure. Franchisees can own and grow a business, but they are not starting with a blank page.
“I’ve seen the power of the franchise model,” Gordon said. “We have a franchisee who’s got five locations, and I’ve seen how it’s helped him grow his business.”
That kind of pathway may become more relevant as AI pushes more professionals to ask what skills will remain valuable. “Leadership, empathy, community impact, work ethic and emotional intelligence, these things are the actual recipe ingredients to making a great restaurant runner and leader,” Gordon said.
Technology may even make franchising more accessible to people who once assumed they lacked the right background. “Buying a restaurant franchise is not going to be, ‘Have you ever operated a restaurant?’ forever,” Gordon said. “It’s going to be, ‘Let’s look at your assessment. Do you have the skills to operate a restaurant?’ Because we’re confident that through the tools we’ve created, we can reduce your time to trained.”
While Gordon is clear-eyed about AI’s disruptive power, he sees certain industries as more protected than others. “AI can’t make more land,” Gordon said. “AI has a really difficult job handling the pace and complexity and the human dynamics of a fast-moving kitchen.”
For Dillas, AI is not about replacing the human parts of the restaurant. It is about improving the support systems around them.
“It should be a force multiplier of productivity for the management, development, and coaching,” Gordon said. “That’s where it really brings value because it’s things beyond a restaurant operator’s scope of skills. They’re not analysts. They don’t build beautiful decks and presentations. That’s where it helps them be better at their job with the skills they don’t have.”
He points to tools that can help with training, hiring, forecasting, prep planning, waste reduction, and operational insights. In the future, Dillas also sees potential for franchisees to access a database of brand systems to interact with in real time.
“During the training process, as a franchisee, having access at your fingertips to a whole database of Dillas systems that you can chat with and ask the questions you need, and you don’t have to wait for an email to get returned to you, that’s powerful,” Gordon said. “We’re trying to make it as accessible as possible while still providing the value you need.”
For Gordon, the most important distinction is that AI does not replace what makes a restaurant meaningful. “AI can’t replicate culture,” he said. “AI can’t replicate community and connection. Those are 95% of the equation.”
That belief is central to Dillas’ franchise strategy. The brand is built around people-first leadership, operational discipline, and community connection. Kyle and Maggie Gordon spent more than a decade developing the concept before moving more aggressively into franchising, focusing on finding operators who align with the culture rather than simply selling units quickly.
“We don’t build businesses, we build people, and it’s the people that build the business,” Gordon has said. “Whether it’s a vendor, a Team Member or a franchisee, that’s the model.”
In an AI-driven world, that human foundation may become even more valuable. As more work becomes automated, Gordon believes people may seek out more real-world experiences, not fewer.
“I see people, as they become more efficient and their work week may have a little bit more time, running toward things that make them feel human,” he said. “Connection, a restaurant, time with a friend they haven’t had time with in the last five years.”
As AI reshapes the economy, Gordon believes franchising could become a more attractive option for people who want control but also want support. “I don’t think it’s going to be true much longer that you have to have been in that industry to pursue it,” Gordon said. “It could be a lot of different business ownership opportunities for franchising that people want to pursue, but they may have thought, ‘Well, I haven’t been in that industry, so I can’t do it.’”
For Dillas, that does not mean lowering standards. It means using better tools, stronger training, and clearer systems to help the right people succeed.
“It secures their position,” Gordon said of AI inside the Dillas system. “It doesn’t make their position obsolete.”
That may be the most important message for future franchisees. In the right system, technology is not a threat to ownership. It is a tool that helps owners operate smarter, train faster, and focus more of their energy on people, culture, and community.
“It’s an exciting time,” Gordon said. “The restaurant industry is getting tailwinded by AI, not headwinded by it. That’s why I’m super excited to be in the business.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/dillas-quesadillas.
Dillas Quesadillas
SPONSORED
As automation reshapes traditional career paths, Gordon says franchising can offer a structured path toward ownership, independence and long-term relevance.
For many professionals in white-collar and corporate roles, the rise of AI is raising an urgent question about career relevance. But where others see a threat, Kyle Gordon, co-founder of Dillas Quesadillas, sees a historic opening for a new wave of business owners. He believes that as AI reshapes how companies operate and teams are built, it is creating a new moment for franchising.
“I see AI right now eating both ends of the economy — the warehouse jobs at the bottom and the white-collar jobs at the top,” said Gordon,” That's what makes it different from past technologies.”
That erosion, Gordon said, is forcing people to rethink the traditional career ladder. “Everybody’s focused on the next one or two years,” Gordon said. “But that goes by super quick. If you’re not preparing right now for being able to leverage AI somehow, you’re going to be in trouble.”
As traditional employment becomes less predictable, Gordon expects more people to explore entrepreneurship. But he also believes AI will change what kind of entrepreneurship feels attractive.
AI has made it easier than ever to start a business quickly. A person can generate a website, business plan, brand concept, marketing copy or sales deck in a matter of hours. But Gordon said that does not automatically create a durable company.
“AI is making it really easy to start your own business now,” he said. “You can start a business in one night with AI. But is it a moated business?”
According to Gordon, that question is critical. In a world where anyone can generate a concept, trust becomes more valuable. Businesses with real-world assets, human connection, community relevance and operational depth may become more attractive because they are harder to replicate.
“I think the new currency is going to be trust,” Gordon said. “It’s going to be how quickly you can build trust in something. Starting fresh and having nothing and building from there, I think, is going to be very difficult.”
For professionals interested in ownership but not in building a business from the ground up, franchising offers a different route. Gordon said the model can be especially powerful because it combines entrepreneurship with structure. Franchisees can own and grow a business, but they are not starting with a blank page.
“I’ve seen the power of the franchise model,” Gordon said. “We have a franchisee who’s got five locations, and I’ve seen how it’s helped him grow his business.”
That kind of pathway may become more relevant as AI pushes more professionals to ask what skills will remain valuable. “Leadership, empathy, community impact, work ethic and emotional intelligence, these things are the actual recipe ingredients to making a great restaurant runner and leader,” Gordon said.
Technology may even make franchising more accessible to people who once assumed they lacked the right background. “Buying a restaurant franchise is not going to be, ‘Have you ever operated a restaurant?’ forever,” Gordon said. “It’s going to be, ‘Let’s look at your assessment. Do you have the skills to operate a restaurant?’ Because we’re confident that through the tools we’ve created, we can reduce your time to trained.”
While Gordon is clear-eyed about AI’s disruptive power, he sees certain industries as more protected than others. “AI can’t make more land,” Gordon said. “AI has a really difficult job handling the pace and complexity and the human dynamics of a fast-moving kitchen.”
For Dillas, AI is not about replacing the human parts of the restaurant. It is about improving the support systems around them.
“It should be a force multiplier of productivity for the management, development, and coaching,” Gordon said. “That’s where it really brings value because it’s things beyond a restaurant operator’s scope of skills. They’re not analysts. They don’t build beautiful decks and presentations. That’s where it helps them be better at their job with the skills they don’t have.”
He points to tools that can help with training, hiring, forecasting, prep planning, waste reduction, and operational insights. In the future, Dillas also sees potential for franchisees to access a database of brand systems to interact with in real time.
“During the training process, as a franchisee, having access at your fingertips to a whole database of Dillas systems that you can chat with and ask the questions you need, and you don’t have to wait for an email to get returned to you, that’s powerful,” Gordon said. “We’re trying to make it as accessible as possible while still providing the value you need.”
For Gordon, the most important distinction is that AI does not replace what makes a restaurant meaningful. “AI can’t replicate culture,” he said. “AI can’t replicate community and connection. Those are 95% of the equation.”
That belief is central to Dillas’ franchise strategy. The brand is built around people-first leadership, operational discipline, and community connection. Kyle and Maggie Gordon spent more than a decade developing the concept before moving more aggressively into franchising, focusing on finding operators who align with the culture rather than simply selling units quickly.
“We don’t build businesses, we build people, and it’s the people that build the business,” Gordon has said. “Whether it’s a vendor, a Team Member or a franchisee, that’s the model.”
In an AI-driven world, that human foundation may become even more valuable. As more work becomes automated, Gordon believes people may seek out more real-world experiences, not fewer.
“I see people, as they become more efficient and their work week may have a little bit more time, running toward things that make them feel human,” he said. “Connection, a restaurant, time with a friend they haven’t had time with in the last five years.”
As AI reshapes the economy, Gordon believes franchising could become a more attractive option for people who want control but also want support. “I don’t think it’s going to be true much longer that you have to have been in that industry to pursue it,” Gordon said. “It could be a lot of different business ownership opportunities for franchising that people want to pursue, but they may have thought, ‘Well, I haven’t been in that industry, so I can’t do it.’”
For Dillas, that does not mean lowering standards. It means using better tools, stronger training, and clearer systems to help the right people succeed.
“It secures their position,” Gordon said of AI inside the Dillas system. “It doesn’t make their position obsolete.”
That may be the most important message for future franchisees. In the right system, technology is not a threat to ownership. It is a tool that helps owners operate smarter, train faster, and focus more of their energy on people, culture, and community.
“It’s an exciting time,” Gordon said. “The restaurant industry is getting tailwinded by AI, not headwinded by it. That’s why I’m super excited to be in the business.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/dillas-quesadillas.
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