California Tortilla announced it has signed an agreement with a new franchise group to open a new location in Montgomery County by early next year. The group consists of former Olney location employee, Erin Bila, her husband, Rogerio, and a business partner
California Tortilla has nearly 50 stores in the DMV and its first ever location came in August 1995 on Cordell Avenue in Bethesda. The restaurant’s headquarters are also currently in Potomac.
We’re told the upcoming Montgomery County location will be located somewhere between Chevy Chase and Gaithersburg, likely along Rockville Pike.
According to a press release, the company is looking to grow further around Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and to span out along the Eastern Seaboard, with a goal of adding 100 new locations in the next five years.
“The pandemic was a challenge for all restaurants,” said Keith Goldman, who became the chain’s president/CEO in June after serving more than 12 years as its Chief Operating Officer. “It was also an opportunity to assess our strengths and opportunities so that we could mount an aggressive resurgence once we emerged from that period. With our operator-friendly ACE model, increasing demand for high-quality, fast-casual Mexican food, our first new franchise group and a clear vision of where we want to grow, we’re very optimistic about the potential to bring California Tortilla to many new markets over the next several years.”
“Bila said she and her partners are eager to leverage their respective strengths and capitalize on California Tortilla’s strength in their market. The brand is well-established in Montgomery County, where it already has six locations. All three partners also reside in the county – the Bilas in Damascus and Awan in Rockville – and have extensive restaurant experience. Erin started in the industry working at the California Tortilla in Olney, Md., and went on to work one of the largest Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees in the state, where she is still employed. Rogerio and Dilshad worked for that same organization but are now devoted full time to developing and operating their new California Tortilla franchise. All are excited to take this next step in their careers and become business owners.”
“Once we decided to strike out on our own,” she said, “we inquired about several concepts, but at the end of the day I pushed for California Tortilla because I know and love this brand and so do many people throughout this area. California Tortilla has been near and dear to me since I started my career. I even still have my W-2 from 2007, my first year at the company. I am excited to get this first location open, and then work on opening more.”