49-553: Qdoba ( / k j uː ˈ d oʊ b ə / kew- DOH -bə ) is a chain of fast casual restaurants in the United States and Canada serving Mexican -style cuisine. After 15 years as a wholly owned subsidiary of Jack in the Box , the company was sold to a consortium of funds led by Apollo Global Management in March 2018. In October 2022, Qdoba was acquired by Butterfly Equity . At the time of
98-528: A "progressive pioneer in the burgeoning 'fast-casual' market segment" in the July 1996 edition of Restaurant Hospitality. The company Technomic Information Services defined "fast-casual restaurants" as meeting the following criteria: Lakewood, Colorado Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado , United States. The city population
147-516: A 30-person line to be served. Zuma was a made-up name but was also the name of a friend's cat. The Denver, Colorado , location was an immediate success, with first-year revenues exceeding $ 1,500,000. The cost of opening the 1,300-square-foot (120 m) store had been only $ 180,000. In 1997, the name of the company was changed from Zuma to Z-Teca Mexican Grill because of a lawsuit from another restaurant using Zuma in Boston and confusion caused by
196-400: A U.S. average of 100, is 107.4. As of 2013, the median home value in the city was $ 238,500, the median selected monthly owner cost was $ 1,546 for housing units with a mortgage and $ 442 for those without, and the median gross rent was $ 940. According to the city's 2023 annual report, the top employers in the city are: Lakewood maintains a council-manager form of government. Citizens elect
245-525: A bowling alley, and used car lots emerged there. Several multiple-business "shopping centers" developed followed by much larger centers at JCRS and Westland. The Villa Italia Mall on West Alameda Avenue, 20 blocks south of Colfax, reflected the southward expansion of the Lakewood settlement and housed a larger concentration of retail space. As the mall went into decline, the Lakewood City Council developed
294-735: A city council consisting of the mayor, who is elected at-large, and 10 city council members, 2 from each of the city's five geographical wards. The mayor and the council members assert the policies for the operation of the city government. The current City Manager, Kathleen Hodgson, is the longest-tenured City Manager in the State of Colorado. The current mayor is Wendi Strom. The council members representing Ward 1 are Jeslin Shahrezaei and Glenda Sinks; Sophia Mayott-Guerrero and Isabel Cruz represent Ward 2; Roger Low and Rebekah Stewart represent Ward 3; Rich Olver and David Rein represent Ward 4; and Ward 5
343-475: A female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were not families. About 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27, and the average family size was 2.92. The distribution of the population by age was 20.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
392-493: A higher quality of food than typical fast-food restaurants . Customers order by selecting an entrée then choosing its ingredients. All of the items are made in plain view of the customer. To distinguish itself from some of its competitors, Qdoba serves breakfast, and some locations are open 24 hours on weekends. Qdoba has also opened restaurants in non-traditional locations, such as directly on college campuses, and participates in some college meal plans. Through agreements with
441-512: A plan to demolish the Villa Italia Mall and replace it with a new development called Belmar. In 2011, Lakewood was named an All-America City for the first time. On December 27, 2021, a Denver gunman killed three Denver residents and two Lakewood residents before being killed by seriously wounded Lakewood Police Agent Ashley Ferris. Lakewood is located at the junction of U.S. Route 6 and Colorado State Highway 121 in central Colorado,
490-476: A position he still holds. By May 2022, Qdoba operates over 750 fast-casual restaurant locations throughout the United States, with 12 locations in Canada. In October 2022, Qdoba was officially acquired by Butterfly Equity via a merger transaction with Modern Restaurant Concepts ("MRC"), an industry-leading "better-for-you" fast casual restaurant platform consisting of two brands: Modern Market Eatery and Lemonade. At
539-538: A simple item, they were hit with as much as a $ 2-per-item price increase (as an example, the Craft 2 which went up to $ 8.40 from $ 6.49) by paying for items they did not want (like the guacamole), subsidizing other customers who previously paid for the "extras". In 2014, Qdoba moved its headquarters from its longtime home in Wheat Ridge to nearby Lakewood . A little over two years later, San Diego –based corporate parent Jack in
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#1733085319169588-570: Is a Los Angeles, California-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector. Under Butterfly's ownership, Qdoba has opened 40 restaurants in 2023 as of August, and plans to open 60 restaurants in 2024 and over 80 annually beginning in 2025. Through a selective refranchising strategy, the company sold a portion of company-owned restaurants to franchisees to achieve a franchised mix of ~80% as of August 2023. The first Canadian location opened on December 3, 2012, in Brandon, Manitoba . A second location
637-561: Is an intermediate concept between fast food and casual dining . The concept originated in the United States in the early 1990s, but did not become mainstream until the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s. During the economic recession that began in 2007 , the category of fast casual dining saw increased sales to the 18–34-year-old demographic . Customers with limited discretionary spending for meals tend to choose fast casual for dining which they perceive as healthier. The founder and publisher of FastCasual.com, Paul Barron,
686-455: Is credited with coining the term "fast-casual" in the late 1990s. Horatio Lonsdale-Hands, former Chairman and CEO of ZuZu Inc., is also credited with coining the term. ZuZu, a handmade Mexican food concept co-founded by Lonsdale-Hands and Espartaco Borga in 1989, filed a U.S. Federal trademark registration for the term "fast-casual" in November 1995, leading Michael DeLuca to call Lonsdale-Hands
735-467: Is diverse, while the largest employers are the government. Companies based in Lakewood include Einstein Bros. Bagels , FirstBank , and The Integer Group . As of 2013, 67.3% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.1% were in the armed forces, and 67.3% were in the civilian labor force with 61.1% employed and 6.2% unemployed. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force
784-484: Is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans." Three customers who got sick after eating at a Qdoba restaurant in Firestone, Colorado , were found to have been infected with the bacterium Salmonella typhi which causes typhoid fever . Two of the customers had to be hospitalized. The source of
833-471: Is part of both the greater Denver metropolitan area and the Front Range Urban Corridor . It borders other communities on all sides, including Wheat Ridge to the north, Edgewater to the northeast, Denver to the east and southeast, Dakota Ridge to the south, Morrison to the southwest, and Golden , West Pleasant View , East Pleasant View , and Applewood to the northwest. According to
882-726: Is represented by Jacob LaBure and Paula Nystrom. The City of Lakewood falls into Colorado House District 26, parts of House District 24, and House District 23. Lakewood is represented in the state house by Reps. Chris Kennedy , Kerry Tipper , and Monica Duran . Lakewood is within Jefferson County School District R-1 . Lakewood also houses Lakewood High School , Green Mountain High School , Bear Creek High School , Brady Exploration High School, Alameda International High School, and International Baccalaureate schools in Jefferson County , as well as
931-496: The Army & Air Force Exchange Service , Qdoba can be found on select U.S. military bases across the nation. The main national rivals to Qdoba are Chipotle Mexican Grill (which also started in Denver, two years before Qdoba), Baja Fresh , Moe's Southwest Grill and, to a lesser extent, Panchero's Mexican Grill , Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill , and Rubio's Coastal Grill . In 2006,
980-470: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Lakewood has a cold semi-arid climate , abbreviated Bsk on climate maps. As of the 2010 census , 142,980 people, 61,986 households, and 35,882 families were residing in the city. The population density was 3,334.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,287.4/km ). Its 65,758 housing units averaged 1,533.5 per square mile (591.9/km ). The racial makeup of
1029-524: The Rocky Mountains . As such, Colfax from Harlan west to Kipling and beyond had mostly commercial establishments. In addition to the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) for tuberculosis patients, the small, frame Methodist Church, and telephone exchange, by the 1950s grocery and drug stores, gas stations, restaurants and taverns, several motels, branch banks, a movie theater, a roller rink,
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#17330853191691078-468: The South Platte River , and several small tributaries of the river flow generally east through it. From north to south, these include Lakewood Gulch , Weir Gulch, Sanderson Gulch, and Bear Creek . Two tributaries of Lakewood Gulch, Dry Gulch, and McIntyre Gulch flow east through the northern part of the city. Turkey Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek, flows northeast through the far southwestern part of
1127-591: The Box decided to integrate Qdoba's headquarters into Jack in the Box's main headquarters in California starting in January 2017. Faced with sluggish growth, management decided to make a change in their marketing strategy. As part of the new strategy, the trade name of the restaurants was changed to Qdoba Mexican Eats in October 2015 in the hope of trying to distinguish itself from similar-sounding competitors. By July 2016,
1176-539: The Box paid $ 45 million in cash to obtain the Wheat Ridge –based Qdoba from ACI Capital, Western Growth Capital, and other private investors in early 2003. Qdoba repurchased 25 stores located in Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee from ZT of Louisville, Inc., one its largest franchisees, for an undisclosed sum in mid-2012. Tim Casey replaced Gary Beisler as CEO in March 2013. In October 2012, Beisler announced his retirement and
1225-760: The District of Columbia and Canada. After Apollo had complete its acquisition, Keith Guilbault was promoted from brand president to chief executive officer in May 2018. In June 2019, Qdoba finally moved its headquarters from the building that it had previously shared for the past two years with its former corporate parent Jack in the Box in Kearny Mesa to the Amp&;rsand building in Mission Valley . In 2021, Qdoba promoted tenured operating officer Eric Williams to chief operating officer,
1274-711: The acquisition, Qdoba had nearly 750 locations across North America. It is the No.2 player and No.1 franchisor of Mexican fast-casual dining in North America. This chain traces its origins to the opening of the Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill in 1995 by Colorado native Anthony Miller and partner Robert Hauser at Grant Street and Sixth Avenue in Denver , which is still in operation. Miller and Hauser met in New York City, where Miller
1323-579: The city lies immediately west of Denver and 62 miles (100 km) north-northwest of Colorado Springs. Lakewood lies in the Colorado Piedmont on the western edge of the Great Plains just east of the Front Range of the southern Rocky Mountains . Green Mountain , a 6,854-foot-tall (2,089 m) mesa, is located in the far west-central part of the city. The city is located in the watershed of
1372-416: The city was 82.9% White , 3.1% Asian , 1.6% Black , 1.4% American Indian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 7.7% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 22.0% of the population. Of the 61,986 households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, 11.9% had
1421-580: The city. In addition, Lena Gulch, a tributary of Clear Creek to the north, flows east then north through the extreme northwestern part of the city. Several small lakes and reservoirs are in Lakewood. The Soda Lakes lie in the extreme southwestern part of the city. East of them lies Bear Creek Lake, a reservoir fed by Bear Creek and Turkey Creek. Clustered near each other in central Lakewood are Main Reservoir, East Reservoir, Smith Reservoir, Kendrick Lake, and Cottonwood Lake. Northeast of them lies Kountze Lake. In
1470-549: The company had 650 restaurants in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. In December 2017, a consortium of funds led by Apollo Global Management announced the purchase of the Qdoba chain for approximately $ 305 million. At the time of the announcement, Qdoba had approximately 700 restaurants in 47 states. The sale was completed in March 2018. Jack in the Box Inc. received $ 305 million in cash for more than 700 locations in 47 states,
1519-433: The company to open 25 new locations and nearly triple its size. Later that year, Gary Beisler was hired to replace Miller as president and chief operating officer, while Miller remained chief executive officer. By mid-1998, Z-Teca had 21 locations in 9 states, with 10 of those locations being franchises. At that time, a chicken burrito cost only $ 4.79. By December 1999, Z-Teca had 49 locations in 19 states. Even though Z-Teca
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1568-652: The company was involved in a lawsuit in which Panera Bread attempted to invoke a clause in Panera's contract with the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury , Massachusetts , to stop the opening of a Qdoba Mexican Grill. The clause provided that Panera would be the only sandwich shop in the shopping center. Panera argued that burritos and other tortilla-based foods were, in fact, sandwiches. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke ruled against Panera, concluding, "A sandwich
1617-475: The government of Jefferson County. Lakewood was a community with policing provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff, several volunteer-staffed fire districts, and some neighborhoods without street lights or sidewalks. However, the community had already existed for about 80 years. The City of Lakewood was incorporated in 1969 as Jefferson City. Soon after, an election was held and the city's name
1666-741: The infection was traced to an infected food handler who was asymptomatic. In 2019, a minor filed a complaint to the General Attorney's Office at Newton, Massachusetts , stating that they had worked overtime at Qdoba. This led to a state-wide investigation that resulted in auditing all locations in Massachusetts. Qdoba paid over $ 400,000 in citations due to the thousands of violations they received due to Massachusetts' child labor laws . In 2020, four customers were hospitalized after consuming contaminated food in Glenwood Springs, Colorado . The food
1715-420: The northwestern part of the city, Lena Gulch both feeds and drains Maple Grove Reservoir. In the extreme southern part of the city lies Bowles Reservoir No. 1 and, just outside the city limits to the reservoir's northeast, Marston Lake. At the 2020 United States Census , the town had a total area of 28,574 acres (115.635 km ), including 751 acres (3.040 km ) of water. As a suburb of Denver, Lakewood
1764-467: The price only depended on the type of protein ($ 7.80 for chicken or vegetarian items and $ 8.40 for steak, shredded beef or pork), but included all of the "extras" that previously incurred an additional charge, such as guacamole and queso sauce. Thereafter, most people who routinely ordered the "extras" with their burritos did not see much of a price difference. However, light eaters complained that if they wanted to maintain their light eating habits by ordering
1813-610: The private Colorado Academy . Lakewood is home to several colleges and universities, including Colorado Christian University , Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design , Red Rocks Community College , and the Colorado School of Trades . The town is served by the Jefferson County Public Library . Nine highways run through the city of Lakewood: Bus and light rail service within the city, and to other areas in
1862-404: The similar-sounding name of a chain that was operating in the Denver area at that time, ZuZu Handmade Mexican Grill . During the same year, Z-teca began to offer franchise opportunities to entrepreneurs to expand the chain outside of its core territory of Colorado. In exchange for a large stake, Western Capital and other investors gave the company a large infusion of capital in early 1998 to allow
1911-405: The time of the acquisition, Qdoba had nearly 750 locations across North America. In January 2023, it was announced that effective immediately, former Applebee's president John Cywinski would be CEO of Modern Restaurant Concepts, Qdoba's parent company. Qdoba is owned by Modern Restaurant Concepts, a fast-casual restaurant platform that is a portfolio company of Butterfly Equity . Butterfly Equity
1960-522: Was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census , making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Colorado and the 167th most populous city in the United States. Lakewood is a suburb of Denver and is a principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor . The urban and suburban development of the community known as Lakewood
2009-582: Was 38.6% in management, business, science, and arts; 25.9% in sales and office occupations; 16.9% in service occupations; 9.9% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 8.7% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were educational services, health care, and social assistance (18.4%); professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (13.8%); and retail trade (11.9%). The cost of living index in Lakewood, compared to
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2058-455: Was 39.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female. The median income for a household in the city was $ 52,960, and for a family was $ 66,947. Males had a median income of $ 46,907 versus $ 41,476 for females. The city's per capita income was $ 30,027. About 9.1% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. Lakewood's economy
2107-507: Was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch , and Hauser attended the Culinary Institute of America , working at the famed Le Cirque restaurant. Hauser developed most of the recipes, designing the menu to be healthier by replacing traditional animal fats with vegetable oils and using more fresh vegetables and herbs. During the first year, lines stretched out the door most evenings, but it usually took roughly seven minutes for customers in
2156-506: Was another made-up name, there were lawsuits by Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill in Arizona and Azteca in Washington state claiming that Z-Teca was too similar to their names and infringed upon their trade names. To overcome these problems, Qdoba was invented in 1999 by ad agency Heckler Associates. At the time of the name change to Qdoba Mexican Grill , Gary Beisler replaced Miller as CEO. Jack in
2205-460: Was changed to Lakewood, due to an overwhelming dislike of "Jefferson City" and the belief that it would be confused with existing communities in Colorado and Missouri. At the time of incorporation, the city population was already over 90,000. Lakewood never had a traditional downtown area. West Colfax Avenue served the metropolitan area as U.S. Route 40 and the main route joining Denver with
2254-594: Was contaminated by an unspecified chemical. Only two out of the four customers experienced symptoms. The incident caused Qdoba to close down temporarily. After the release of the individuals, Qdoba reopened. No action was taken by the individuals. Fast casual restaurant A fast casual restaurant , found primarily in the United States and Canada , is a restaurant that does not offer full table service , but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants , with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It
2303-587: Was opened in London, Ontario , three months later. A third location opened in Winnipeg in 2014. As of October 2023, there are 12 locations in Canada and no locations exist in any other country. Qdoba serves burritos made in the San Francisco burrito style , and other foods such as tacos , quesadillas , chile con queso and tortilla soup. The restaurant fits into the "fast casual" category, offering both quick service and
2352-445: Was replaced the following March by Tim Casey. Three years later, Casey was replaced as brand president by Keith Guilbault in May 2016. In June 2013, Qdoba announced it would close a total of 67 underperforming restaurants, including 18 in and around Chicago. By late 2013, Qdoba operated over 600 fast-casual restaurant locations throughout the United States. In October 2014, Qdoba changed its price structure to "all-inclusive", in which
2401-561: Was started in 1889 by Charles Welch and W.A.H. Loveland , who platted a 13-block area along Colfax Avenue west of Denver in eastern Jefferson County. Loveland, the former president of the Colorado Central Railroad , retired to the new community of Lakewood after many years of living in Golden . Until 1969, the area known as Lakewood had no municipal government, relying instead on several water districts , several fire districts, and
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