Salsarita's Hires Chris Bailey As VP Of Franchise Development

Salsarita's, an 80-unit Mexican cantina chain based in Charlotte, N.C., has named former Bojangle's executive Chris Bailey as its vice president of franchise development in the chain's latest reorganization move since it was acquired by Mississippi Restaurant Group in June 2011.

As director of franchise development for Bojangle's Restaurants, Inc., Bailey, over the course of eight years, helped grow that company from 34 franchisees operating 157 restaurants to 85 franchisees and 316 restaurants, according to Salsarita's.

"In addition to our rebranding initiatives at Salsarita's, we also invested countless hours and resources building an exceptional franchise support team," said Phil Friedman, chief executive of Mississippi Restaurant Group, in a press release. "Now that we possess the talent needed to provide excellent support, Chris is going to lead our effort to find multi-unit operations groups that share our vision for success. We are fortunate to have him on the team."

Salsarita's said it expects to have at least two new franchise agreements before the end of 2012, with a goal of having more than 300 locations nationwide over the next several years, primarily through increasing penetration in existing markets and opening at nontraditional locations such as universities, airports and business campuses.

The chain expects growth both from existing franchisees and new developers, and said that new franchisees should commit to opening at least three to five restaurants in their territory.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
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