Washington, D.C.-based restaurant chain District Taco is getting a firmer foothold on Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia region, with another lease signed and more planned in the new year.
The growing company is also nearing the opening of its outpost in the East Market development in Center City.
The fast-casual taqueria District Taco signed a lease for a restaurant at 1495 York Road in Abington, Montgomery County, pushing its total store count to 15 and third overall in Greater Philadelphia. Located at the Abington Town Center, District Taco will join retailers like Target and TJ Maxx.
The 400-employee District Taco has 14 locations, 12 of which are operating and two under construction in Virginia, Washington, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
The chain first entered Greater Philadelphia in November 2017 at the King of Prussia Town Center — a location soon followed by another at the East Market development, which had its grand opening this month.
The Center City restaurant, first announced earlier this year, will open in December. When it opens, it will join Iron Hill Brewery, Little Baby's Ice Cream and Wawa.
District Taco CEO and co-founder Osiris Hoil has plans to operate as many as 20 locations and employ about 600 people by 2020, and the Pennsylvania market will play a part in that goal.
Hoil is finalizing deals for three additional locations in the state, all due to open next year. The state will then have at least six District Taco outposts by the end of next year.
"We feel in Philly we can grow aggressively like how we're doing in D.C.," Hoil told the Philadelphia Business Journal in an earlier interview.
"If we can make Philadelphia successful, then we can jump to New Jersey, North Carolina, Boston and New York," Hoil said. "There are more opportunities. Philly’s fun, but it has a rich history. I feel like my story is the same story as Rocky Balboa."
Hoil came to the United States in 2000 when he was 17 years old, and has slowly grown District Taco as a brick-and-mortar chain after years ago retiring the food trucks that he started out with.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal