A California restaurant operator has announced some big moves in Texas. Ghai Restaurants is now the owner of 44 Taco Bell locations in the Houston area, according to multiple media reports.
Ghai revealed the acquisition on LinkedIn on Tuesday, May 19. The restaurant group is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and operates around 260 restaurants in California and Oregon, including Popeye’s and Burger King, Restaurant Business reported. The Houston acquisition is the company’s first expansion effort outside the West Coast.
Mas Restaurant Group was the previous operator of those Taco Bell locations. According to its website, it now operates 79 restaurants in the Greater Houston region and another 42 in the Ohio area. Restaurant Business reported Ghai’s acquisition represented around half of Mas’ Taco Bell holdings.
The last time we looked at Taco Bell was when it deployed its “Live Mas” beverage model to a few locations in the Houston region (including one near my house). Apparently, the Mexican fast-food chain is doing really well at the moment. According to Restaurant Dive, it’s done so by capitalizing hard and fast on every major food trend, including value deals, beverages and chicken. In February, Taco Bell revealed its same-store sales were up 7 percent and that it gained market share among higher-income customers and young adults.
My only complaint is the AI ordering experience at the restaurant is very clunky.
Restaurant Business reported one of the reasons the Ghai group is expanding its reach to Texas is because of California’s business policies, which include requiring fast-food operators to pay staff $20 an hour.