In 2013, Kyle and Maggie Gordon invested nearly everything they had into a bold idea: building a restaurant brand centered entirely around quesadillas.

The couple believed the familiar food could become a major fast-food category, similar to chicken fingers. Instead of treating quesadillas as an appetizer or side item, they wanted to make them the centerpiece of the meal.

Opening the first Dillas Primo Quesadillas location in Plano, Texas, proved far more expensive than expected. The Gordons originally estimated the restaurant would cost approximately $200,000, but the final investment climbed to nearly $500,000.

Unable to secure a traditional bank loan, they relied on their personal savings and financial support from friends and family. The decision was especially risky because they were still in their late 20s and raising young children.

More than a decade later, that gamble appears to have paid off. Dillas now operates 11 locations across Texas and Louisiana. Each restaurant generates approximately $2 million in average annual sales, while the highest-performing location is nearing $2.5 million. The company expects to reach $20 million in revenue in 2026.

Turning an Idea Into a Brand

Kyle first imagined a quesadilla-focused restaurant while attending the University of Texas at Austin. Although he studied government, he knew he wanted to pursue a different career path.

After college, he gained valuable restaurant experience at Raising Cane’s, working his way from hourly shift leader to general manager and eventually managing partner. That experience helped prepare him to build his own restaurant concept.

Maggie studied public relations and worked in corporate advertising before transitioning into freelance marketing. Her background became valuable as the couple developed the Dillas brand together.

The menu began taking shape during a road trip to Houston, when Kyle and Maggie started brainstorming creative ingredients that could be placed inside a quesadilla. They wanted to move beyond traditional fillings and demonstrate how versatile the food could be.

Over the years, they experimented with several unusual combinations. Some were eventually removed, while others became customer favorites. One of the brand’s most adventurous current offerings, called the Fluffy, includes steak, bacon, French fries, black bean spread, cheese, queso and pico de gallo.

Building Before Franchising

Creating an original restaurant concept required the Gordons to develop every element themselves. Sauces, seasonings, ingredient combinations, operating procedures and customer experiences all had to be created, tested and refined.

Although the business showed franchise potential early on, the couple resisted expanding too quickly. They wanted to ensure that someone outside their organization could successfully operate the restaurant without their direct involvement.

In 2018, they tested the concept through a joint venture with one of Kyle’s former colleagues. After that partner successfully opened and operated three locations in another state, the Gordons became confident that the model could work beyond their local market.

They officially began preparing for franchising around 2021, after developing stronger training, infrastructure, site-selection processes and operational systems.

The founders believe many restaurant brands struggle because they begin franchising before those systems are fully established. Without clear procedures, franchise owners may begin making independent decisions, creating inconsistent customer experiences and weakening the brand.

For Dillas, the strategy was to grow carefully, create repeatable systems and only expand once the business could maintain its identity and quality without the founders overseeing every detail.