Burritobar, the American division of Barburrito, announced last week that it had signed a two decade, 93-unit master franchise agreement for New Jersey with Sarang Franchising LLC.

Sarang has served as the Ohio master franchisee for the Toronto-based, fast casual Tex-Mex chain since the two signed a 115-store development contract in May.

Burritobar is laying the groundwork for an aggressive expansion throughout the United States, with franchising agreements in place covering Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, Nebraska, North Texas, South Illinois, in addition to Ohio and New Jersey, Jeff Young, Burritobar’s chief development officer said. The company has over 325 restaurants in Canada under affiliate Barburrito and entered the U.S. in 2020. Since then, Burritobar has opened three stores in Michigan and a fourth in Delaware, Young said.

In an email to Restaurant Dive, Young said the chain is primarily targeting “suburban, secondary and tertiary markets. Grocery anchored shopping centers in residential communities where we can serve out guests for lunch, dinner and through on-line delivery aggregators, provide for an ideal setting for the concept.” 

Once Burritobar has built up brand awareness in those markets, it will shift towards urban expansion, Young said. 

Burritobar has about 750 development commitments in the U.S., Young said, which would put it on a fast track to being a major player in the Mexican fast casual niche in the country. Chipotle, the sector’s dominant player, had over 3,400 units in North America at the start of the year, while Qdoba, another major player, had a system of about 750 stores at the beginning of 2024. Like Qdoba, Burritobar’s U.S. development strategy depends on franchising to fuel a rapid expansion of its store footprint, in contrast to Chipotle’s company-owned model.

Young said its units tend to be 1,000 to 1,500 square feet and fit well into end-cap or in-line spaces in shopping centers.

Young noted Burritobar’s menu is a further point of differentiation, claiming that it has “more proteins, more toppings and more sauces to choose from. Additionally, we have fryers, so we able to serve a more diverse offering, including signature menu items such as bang, bang shrimp, crunchy chicken, falafel, extreme fries, and freshly deep-fried churros.”