Dortch Enterprises facts for kids
 |
|
| Private LLC | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Louis Dortch Sr. Louis Dortch Jr. |
| Headquarters |
,
United States
|
|
Number of locations
|
45 (2019) |
|
Area served
|
Central Michigan |
|
Key people
|
|
| Products | sub sandwichs Tacos |
| Services | restaurant equipment repair |
| Owner | Louis Dortch Sr. Louis Dortch Jr. |
|
Number of employees
|
1,200 |
| Subsidiaries |
|
Dortch Enterprises (DE) is a company that runs many restaurants. They operate popular fast-food places like Subway and Taco Bell. In the past, they also owned the Halo Burger chain.
Dortch Enterprises is a big player in the restaurant world. They were one of only 38 companies worldwide that owned 40 or more Subway locations. As of August 2019, the company managed 21 Subway restaurants and 24 Taco Bell restaurants.
Contents
History of Dortch Enterprises
Starting a Restaurant Business
The Dortch family first worked in the dry cleaning business. Louis Dortch Sr. and Louis Dortch Jr. decided to try something new. They opened their very first Subway restaurant in Flint in 1987. This was a big step for them.
They quickly found success with Subway. In just 13 months, they opened four more Subway locations. This showed they were good at running restaurants.
Expanding with New Brands
Dortch Enterprises also became a franchisee for Qdoba Mexican Grill. A franchisee is a person or company that buys the right to open and operate a business using another company's brand and system. 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 locations Dortch owned. With many Subways already in Michigan, Dortch looked for another brand to grow. They first thought about becoming a Sonic Drive-In franchisee.
By 2010, Dortch Enterprises owned 40 Subway restaurants. They were planning to open Sonic locations in Dearborn and Livonia. However, their plans changed.
At the end of 2010, Dortch Enterprises bought the nine-restaurant Halo Burger chain. This purchase cost about $10 million. Because of this new focus, they decided not to become a Sonic franchisee.
Focus on Subway and Taco Bell
In 2011, Dortch Subway Groups opened three more Subway locations. By August 2012, Dortch planned a special restaurant. It would be a joint Halo Burger and Subway location in Burton.
The year 2013 was busy for Halo Burger. Nine more locations were being built. Three of them opened by October, including the joint Halo Burger-Subway restaurant.
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. These stores had been bought with the plan to move them later.
In January 2016, Dortch Enterprises sold the 15-location Halo Burger chain. It was sold to a company called Halo Country LLC.
Dortch then became a Taco Bell franchisee. In August 2017, they announced a new Taco Bell Cantina location in Royal Oak, Michigan. This would be the first Cantina for Michigan. Dortch also planned to open 10 more Taco Bell locations in the next year. Dortch Enterprises bought a total of 24 Taco Bell restaurants, including the Cantina. The city did not approve the license for the Cantina in April 2018. In August 2019, construction began for a new Taco Bell in Durand. It was planned to open in October.
