Salsarita’s
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill is a privately held fast-casual Mexican restaurant franchisor operating 65 units across 12 U.S. states, serving individual diners and corporate/event catering clients through customizable made-to-order menus and a Punchh-powered loyalty program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersCharlotte, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Salsarita’s does
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill, founded in 2000 by Bruce Willette and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a privately held fast-casual Mexican restaurant franchisor operating 65 franchise units across 12 U.S. states. The company offers made-to-order customizable Mexican fare — burritos, tacos, bowls, Quesoritos, quesadillas, nachos, salads, kids meals, chips and dips — alongside a high-margin catering program (Catering Bars, Boxed Lunches, Fiesta Packs) that accounts for 21% of system sales. Its digital surface includes an iOS/Android mobile app, a web ordering platform, and a dedicated catering ordering site, with a unified POS/kitchen-display stack supporting dine-in, drive-thru, curbside, and third-party delivery channels.
The technology backbone is built on the PAR Technology Punchh loyalty platform, which powers the Salsarita's Rewards program (1 point per $1, rewards starting at 20 points, birthday and referral bonuses). Per the December 2025 partnership update, Punchh's Smart Passes extend loyalty enrollment into Apple and Google Wallets, enabling app-free engagement. The company also offers a Nutrition Calculator and Allergen Information tool for customization transparency, and drives customer acquisition through an in-house digital marketing function reporting an 8x ROI on ad spend.
Salsarita's generates revenue primarily through franchise royalties and fees (minimum $300K liquid / $1M net worth to qualify as a franchisee), a share of restaurant sales across the franchise system, and catering transactions. End customers span individual diners, families, and corporate/event clients (minimum 15-person catering orders), while the B2B side is composed of multi-unit franchise operators (55% of franchisees own multiple locations). Average unit volume for the top third of traditional locations reached $1.9M in 2024, with the middle third at $1.1M and the bottom third at $0.78M.
Salsarita’s firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Salsarita’s
- Legal name
- Salsarita's Franchising, LLC
- Website
- https://salsaritas.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill is a privately held fast-casual Mexican restaurant franchisor operating 65 units across 12 U.S. states, serving individual diners and corporate/event catering clients through customizable made-to-order menus and a Punchh-powered loyalty program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Salsarita’s industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fast Casual Restaurants
- NAICS
- Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mexican & Tex-Mex Fast Casual (THAFABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls) (THAFABAF)
Keywords
Where Salsarita’s is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlotte
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Salsarita’s business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Restaurant Sales: Revenue from dine-in, takeout, and delivery orders at franchised restaurant locations across 65 locations in 12 states
- Franchise Fees: Initial franchise fees and ongoing royalty payments from franchise operators. Minimum net worth requirement of $1 million and $300,000 liquid capital
- Catering Services: Corporate and event catering orders including taco bars, fajita bars, nacho bars, boxed lunches, and fiesta packs. Catering represents 21% of sales with $10 reward incentive for rewards members
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Catering starts at $9.50 per person |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Franchise investment minimum $300,000 liquid capital |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Salsarita’s product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill operates a Mexican fast-casual restaurant franchise with 65 locations across 12 U.S. states, selling made-to-order customizable Mexican food including burritos, tacos, bowls, quesadillas, nachos, salads, kids meals, and chips and dips. The company also offers a full-service catering program (taco bars, fajita bars, nacho bars, boxed lunches, and Fiesta Packs), a PAR Punchh-powered loyalty rewards program, a mobile ordering app, and franchise opportunities to qualified operators with a minimum $1M net worth and $300K liquid capital.
Product overview
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant franchise operating 65 locations across 12 states, offering made-to-order customizable Mexican cuisine. The product portfolio centers on fresh, customizable menu items including Burritos, Tacos, Bowls, Quesoritos, Quesadillas, Nachos, Salads, Kids Meals, and Chips & Dips, complemented by a Catering Service with Catering Bars (Fajita, Taco, Nacho, Taco Salad), Boxed Lunches, and Fiesta Packs. Digital products include a Mobile App with integrated Rewards Program, Online Ordering Platform, and web-based Nutrition Calculator and Allergen Information tools. The company also offers Gift Cards and supports franchise opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Made-to-Order Mexican Menu Items Customizable fast-casual menu items sold to individual diners across 65 franchised locations, including burritos, tacos, bowls, quesadillas, nachos, salads, kids meals, and chips & dips with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
- Catering Service Full-service catering for corporate events, parties, and group orders of 15 or more guests, offering Catering Bars (Fajita, Taco, Nacho, Taco Salad), Boxed Lunches, and Fiesta Packs with delivery and setup, starting at $9.50 per person.
- Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards sold for use at participating Salsarita's restaurant locations.
- Salsarita's Rewards Program Free loyalty program awarding 1 point per $1 spent (including catering orders), with rewards starting at 20 points, birthday rewards, referral bonuses, and app-exclusive offers, used by 1 in 4 guests across the system.
- Salsarita's Mobile App iOS and Android mobile application enabling customers to place pickup and delivery orders, earn and redeem loyalty rewards, access exclusive app-only offers, and receive push notifications.
- Online Ordering Platform Web-based ordering storefront at order.salsaritas.com enabling customers to place dine-in, pickup, or delivery orders directly with Salsarita's.
- Salsarita's Franchise Opportunity Franchise license opportunity for qualified operators (minimum $1M net worth and $300K liquid capital) to open and operate Salsarita's restaurant locations under a multi-year franchise agreement with ongoing royalty obligations.
Companies that use Salsarita’s
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Salsarita’s technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Salsarita’s partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PAR Technology Corporation / PunchhcorePAR Technology's Punchh platform powers Salsarita's loyalty rewards program, enabling point earning, reward redemption, birthday rewards, and referral bonuses. The platform integrates with Apple and Google Wallets through Smart Passes, allowing app-free loyalty engagement. PAR Technology recently launched Smart Passes specifically for restaurant brands like Salsarita's to increase guest retention and redemption rates.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Salsarita’s competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Torchy's Tacos: Torchy's Tacos is an emerging player in the premium/fast-casual Mexican space with a growing footprint and customizable tacos/bowls menu — directly competes for the same burrito/bowl/taco customer as Salsarita's with a differentiated "damn good" brand positioning.
- Chronic Tacos: Chronic Tacos is an emerging California-based Mexican fast-casual franchise with a smaller footprint and similar customizable California-style burrito, taco, and bowl offerings — competes for the same customizable-format customer.
Direct peers
- Moe's Southwest Grill: Moe's Southwest Grill is a direct competitor — a Mexican fast-casual franchise chain with 700+ locations offering customizable burritos, tacos, and bowls under a similar counter-service model with strong brand personality and catering operations.
- Baja Fresh Mexican Grill: Baja Fresh is a direct peer — a smaller Mexican fast-casual franchise chain offering flame-grilled burritos, tacos, and bowls with similar customizable format and franchise system structure.
- Rubio's Coastal Grill: Rubio's is a direct peer — a California-based Mexican fast-casual chain focused on coastal/baja-style tacos, burritos, and bowls with a smaller franchise footprint and similar customizable menu and catering offerings.
- Del Taco: Del Taco is a direct peer — a Mexican fast-food/QSR chain with ~600 locations combining Mexican and American menus at value pricing, competing for the same lunchtime/family occasion traffic.
- Qdoba Mexican Eats: Qdoba is a direct competitor — a Mexican fast-casual chain (owned by CKE Restaurants, Apollo Global Management) with ~700 locations, offering a customizable menu of burritos, tacos, bowls, and quesadillas and an established catering and digital ordering business.
Broad incumbents
- Taco Bell: Taco Bell (Yum! Brands) is the dominant Mexican QSR incumbent with 8,000+ U.S. locations and a deeply scaled digital/loyalty platform — competes with Salsarita's at the value/quick-service end of the Mexican category.
- Chipotle Mexican Grill: Chipotle is the broad incumbent defining the Mexican fast-casual category with 3,500+ U.S. locations, a similar customizable menu, and a strong loyalty/digital platform (Chipotle Rewards) — the benchmark competitor in Salsarita's space.
Regional players
- Taco Cabana: Taco Cabana is a regional Mexican fast-casual/QSR player primarily serving Texas with dine-in, drive-thru, and patio formats — competes with Salsarita's concept but in a distinct geography (Texas vs. Southeast/Midwest).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Salsarita’s social profiles
Digital presenceSalsarita’s financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Salsarita’s leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Salsarita’s funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Salsarita’s M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Salsarita’s
What does Salsarita’s do?
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill operates a Mexican fast-casual restaurant franchise with 65 locations across 12 U.S. states, selling made-to-order customizable Mexican food including burritos, tacos, bowls, quesadillas, nachos, salads, kids meals, and chips and dips. The company also offers a full-service catering program (taco bars, fajita bars, nacho bars, boxed lunches, and Fiesta Packs), a PAR Punchh-powered loyalty rewards program, a mobile ordering app, and franchise opportunities to qualified operators with a minimum $1M net worth and $300K liquid capital.
Is Salsarita’s a public or private company?
Salsarita’s is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Salsarita’s founded?
Salsarita’s was founded in 2000. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Salsarita’s based?
Salsarita’s is headquartered in Charlotte, United States, in the North America region.
How does Salsarita’s make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Sales are the primary driver. The others are franchise Fees and catering Services.
Who are Salsarita’s's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Torchy's Tacos and Chronic Tacos. Direct peers are Moe's Southwest Grill, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, Rubio's Coastal Grill, Del Taco and Qdoba Mexican Eats. Broad incumbents are Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Taco Cabana is listed as a regional player.
Does Salsarita’s have an API?
No public API is recorded for Salsarita’s.
What industry is Salsarita’s in?
Salsarita’s's product category is Fast Casual Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFABAC, Mexican & Tex-Mex Fast Casual, with a secondary code of THAFABAF, Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls). Its NAICS code is 722513 and its SIC code is 5810.