The healthy rice bowl brand WaBa Grill is partnering with one of its existing franchisees to build up its presence in Arizona.
Jerry Bajwa operates 19 WaBa Grill locations in Southern California, as well as the only unit in Arizona, with a restaurant in Tempe. He’ll develop another 10 locations in Arizona over the next seven years as part of a new franchise agreement, starting in Glendale.
The move is part of a sensible expansion plan for WaBa Grill, which has grown to nearly 200 locations since its founding in 2006. The Anaheim Hills, California-based company first built up its unit count in its home state, mainly in southern markets, and is now looking to steadily increase its presence in neighboring states.
Bajwa said Californians who’ve moved to nearby states will continue to make the brand successful. “A lot of people are going to Arizona, that’s a big factor,” Bajwa said. “A lot of the people who made this brand successful in Southern California are now residents of Arizona. It’s also a wide-open area in terms of finding locations to develop more stores. It’s getting pretty tight in California, but it’s more of an open slate here.”
According to Steven Wang, Waba Grill’s director of real estate, development and construction, expansion will continue to roll out in nearby states on the West Coast.
Steven Wang is WaBa Grill’s director of real estate, development and construction.
“We want to grow in a responsible way,” Wang said. “There are a lot of concepts out there that just grow wherever any franchisees reach out. That way of growing is somewhat difficult, and in some ways, we feel at WaBa Grill, irresponsible. We feel we can’t support our franchisees if it’s so far away and spread out. In terms of strategy, we want to be responsible and move eastward slowly.”
As part of that responsible growth, Wang said the brand sees an advantage in working with established franchisees.
“We have a great relationship with our existing franchisees,” Wang said. “Initially, we opened up these expansions to our current franchisees, and Jerry being one of our top franchisees immediately responded to the opportunity. We want to grow it with proven franchisees who have the top-notch operations and organization that they have in place.”
Bajwa originally became a franchisee not only because he liked the food, but also because he saw an opportunity for expansion.
“I was looking at which brands I could get the most growth with, which I could have some longevity, stability and make good money with,” Bajwa said. “Everything ended up clicking. I knew I liked the food and thought ‘if I like it, probably a lot of other people will like it, too.’ That’s been true, there are almost 200 locations now and the unit level economics are very solid.”
Since joining the brand, Bajwa said the efficiency at the restaurants has been a major plus.
“The ease of operation is the best part,” Bajwa said. “I am and have been involved in many other brands, with food and other industries. In this case, the amount of labor necessary to operate a restaurant, at the very minimum, is low. The amount of training required is also minimal. It’s a huge plus as an operator.”
WaBa Grill leadership says popularity of healthy brands will contribute to the company’s success.
Wang said the increasing popularity of healthy brands will also contribute to the company’s success in new markets.
“With fast food, a lot of the options are not very healthy,” Wang said. “I’m confident with WaBa Grill, because our food and the potential customers will make us be ablet o reach further than just in the Southern California market. We can provide that healthy option for people in areas beyond our core one.”
In addition to Arizona, WaBa Grill has franchisees committed to opening multiple locations in Texas and Nevada. Ranked No. 281 on the Franchise Times Top 500, the company had systemwide sales of $168 million in 2021.