Dortch Enterprises facts for kids
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| Private LLC | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Louis Dortch Sr. Louis Dortch Jr. |
| Headquarters |
,
United States
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Number of locations
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45 (2019) |
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Area served
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Central Michigan |
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Key people
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| Products | sub sandwichs Tacos |
| Services | restaurant equipment repair |
| Owner | Louis Dortch Sr. Louis Dortch Jr. |
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Number of employees
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1,200 |
| Subsidiaries |
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Dortch Enterprises (DE) is a company that runs many restaurants. They operate Subway and Taco Bell restaurants. They also used to own the Halo Burger restaurant chain.
Dortch was one of only 38 companies worldwide that owned 40 or more Subway locations. That's out of 17,000 Subway owners! As of August 2019, the company had 21 Subway restaurants and 24 Taco Bell restaurants.
Contents
Company History
Starting with Subway
The Dortch family first started a dry cleaning business called Troy Cleaners. Other family members now own that business.
Louis Dortch Sr. and Louis Dortch Jr. wanted to try something new. They decided to open a Subway restaurant in Flint in 1987. They liked it so much that they opened four more Subway locations in just 13 months!
Expanding to Other Restaurants
Dortch Enterprises also became a company that owned franchised Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants. Their first Qdoba opened in Grand Blanc in 1998. By 2008, they had built 14 more Qdoba restaurants in different counties.
In November 2008, Qdoba bought back all the restaurants Dortch owned. Since there were many Subway restaurants in Michigan, Dortch looked for a new type of restaurant to open. They first thought about becoming a Sonic Drive-In owner.
Growing with Subway and Halo Burger
By 2010, Dortch Enterprises owned 40 Subway restaurants. They were also planning to open Sonic restaurants in Dearborn and Livonia.
However, at the end of 2010, Dortch bought the Halo Burger restaurant chain. Halo Burger had nine locations at the time. This purchase cost about $10 million. Because of this, Dortch decided not to open any Sonic restaurants.
In 2011, Dortch Subway Groups opened three more Subway locations. In August 2012, Dortch planned to build a special restaurant. It would be a joint location with both a Halo Burger and a Subway in Burton.
The year 2013 was a busy time for Halo Burger. Nine more locations were being built, and three of them opened by October. One of these was the joint Halo Burger-Subway restaurant.
Changes and New Brands
By October 2013, Dortch Subway Groups had grown to 65 locations. This was a gain of 22 new restaurants since 2011.
In October 2014, Dortch moved two of their Subway stores in Milford and Highland to new spots. They had bought these stores in 2004, knowing they would need to move them later.
In January 2016, Dortch Enterprises sold the 15 Halo Burger restaurants. They sold them to a company called Halo Country LLC.
Dortch then became a Taco Bell restaurant owner. In August 2017, they announced plans for a special Taco Bell Cantina location in Royal Oak, Michigan. This was the first one in Michigan. Dortch also said they would open 10 more Taco Bell restaurants in the next year. Dortch Enterprises bought a total of 24 Taco Bell restaurants, including the Cantina.
By August 2019, the building for their Durand Taco Bell was almost finished. They planned to open it in October of that year.
External Links
- – a website for one of their other companies
