The Allure of International Cuisine: Top 10 Ethnic Restaurant Franchises

Ask any traveler, foodie or not, what their favorite activities are while on vacation. Restaurants are destined to be in their top 10 list. And prospective franchisees investing in restaurants like these help consumers get the ethnic food they crave without paying for a flight. 

Here are 10 brands that are seeing this kind of momentum. 

Pollo Campero*

• Units: 350+  
• Startup costs: $1,287,250-$2,491,500

Pollo Campero, the Central American chicken franchise with 89 U.S. locations and another 270 around the world, began in Guatemala in 1971. In 2002, Pollo Campero followed its millions of fans to the United States by opening its first restaurant in Los Angeles. With its exceptional brand recognition and high-quality products, the franchise’s established customer base is rapidly expanding in the U.S.  

“We have a fan base that has known us for many years in Central America and has continued to support our growth efforts wherever we go,” said director of franchise development Blas Escarcega. “We’re very happy with the legacy customer base, and we also have new consumers that don’t know us but have been very open to coming and trying our food, and they continue to come. They like our food, menu and offerings.”

Teriyaki Madness

• Units: 130+
• Startup costs: $312,500-$731,260 

Teriyaki Madness, the 130-plus unit franchised purveyor of Seattle-style teriyaki bowls, serves up fresh, healthy and flavorful Asian food. Through years of mastering marinating, grilling and using wok, the brand has created bowls that are hearty, delicious and healthy. At Teriyaki Madness, food is made to order, always fresh and never frozen. The franchise has been ranked on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500, FastCasual’s Movers and Shakers and was named the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the United States by Restaurant Business in 2021. 

Paris Baguette*

• Units: 4,000+  
• Startup costs: $652,565-$1,750,900

Paris Baguette is a bakery café franchise with more than 4,000 units around the world. The franchise first arrived in the United States in 2005 and now has nearly 150 units operating in the country, with the goal of reaching the 1,000-unit mark by 2030. It is loved by customers across the globe for its world-class cakes, pastries, coffees, breads and other French-inspired bakery café fare.

“People understand and realize once they look into Paris Baguette that it's a global brand with over 4,000 units, and it’s just now starting to gain traction in the United States,” said Eric Lavinder, Paris Baguette’s chief development officer. “So they realize how successful we've been across the globe and that now the U.S. is one of the last major markets to expand into — that in itself makes it a great opportunity.” 

Grégoire

• Units: 1
• Startup costs: $240,794-$357,370

In 2002, Grégoire Jacquet opened Grégoire after 15 years as a French-trained chef at several five-star restaurants around the world. Jacquet set out to transform the tradition of carryout food by opening the first high-end takeout restaurant — one that would be rooted in the community and that would serve high-quality food using farm-fresh and house-made ingredients. When he and his wife moved back to his wife’s home state of California, he built just that. The fine-fast-casual franchise serves gourmet sandwich and salad dishes, along with its famous potato puffs and scratch-made french fries. 

The Halal Guys

• Units: 100
• Startup costs: $542,025-$1,459,425 

The Halal Guys is a fast-growing American Halal franchise with locations across North America, Europe and Asia. Devoted fans line up around the world for its mouthwatering chicken, gyros and falafel platters. In 1990, the franchise’s three Egyptian founders started a hot dog cart in New York City. The trio then switched to selling halal food because there was practically no authentic halal food to be had in the five boroughs. Word spread and the brand quickly grew, now having 100 open locations and over 400-plus new restaurants in development worldwide.

Jinya Ramen Bar

• Units: 56
• Startup costs: $1,395,500-$3,040,000

Tomo Takahashi, the founder of JINYA Ramen Bar, moved to the United States in 2010. Missing the authentic taste of Japanese ramen, he decided to create it himself. Hailing from a family of successful restaurateurs in Japan, Tomo embraced three core values: delicious food at reasonable prices for everyone. 

Fuzzy's Taco Shop

• Units: 150
• Startup costs: $370,500-$1,224,600

Fort Worth, Texas-based Fuzzy’s Taco Shop specializes in Baja-style Mexican food, including tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, salads and all-day breakfast. The first restaurant opened in 2003. The concept began franchising in 2009, and has since grown into a nationally recognized brand for its tasty menu items, beer and margaritas. The brand now has nearly 150 locations across the country and even more in the works. 

Curry Up Now

• Units: 22
• Startup costs: $416,450-$1,779,750

Curry Up Now is the largest Indian fast-casual restaurant chain in North America, renowned for their innovative spin on traditional Indian cuisine: “Indian Street Food” with a modern twist. Founder and CEO Akash Kapoor spent years perfecting Curry Up Now’s sauces, chutneys and other foods, which are now produced in a professional commissary. Curry Up Now offers franchisees the ability to purchase the food directly from the commissary at the same price as the founders, giving them more opportunities to be profitable.

Pho Hoa

• Units: 60+ 
• Startup costs: $332,600-$680,180

Established in 1983 in California, Pho Hoa is a Vietnamese food franchise that offers franchisees the opportunity to balance a rich culinary tradition with what is becoming mainstream cuisine. On top of three decades of experience and international brand recognition, Pho Hoa serves quality, consistent and healthy products. The brand has modernized how it prepares its soups while sticking to important traditional Vietnamese flavors. 

Fazoli’s

• Units: 200+
• Startup costs: $809,000-$2,300,000

Fazoli’s aims to provide a quick and affordable dining experience with an Italian twist. While it may not offer a full-service, upscale Italian dining experience, it has become a popular choice for people looking for a convenient and reasonably priced option for Italian-inspired meals. The Fazoli's menu typically includes a variety of pasta dishes, salads, pizzas and sandwiches. They are particularly famous for their unlimited breadsticks, which are served with most entrees.

These 10 are just a handful of the diverse international restaurants picking up speed in the United States. And as the global ethnic food industry continues to climb toward its $131.6 billion mark by 2030, now is a better time than ever to get into this industry.