Kyle and Maggie Gordon built Dillas Primo Quesadillas as an extension of their own story — a blend of Kyle’s obsession with operations and Maggie’s strength in marketing and food. Together, they turned a college idea into a 12-year journey of learning, risk-taking and steady growth.

“We’re building a brand that can scale nationally by staying true to community roots and delivering predictable, profitable results for franchisees,” Kyle said.

That mission has guided them from a single store in Texas to a growing franchise system with national ambitions. Today, Dillas has 11 locations across Texas and Louisiana, strong AUVs near $1.9 million and is officially launching its franchise program.

A College Dream That Became a Life’s Work

While Kyle’s college classmates took notes, he sketched business ideas. The name came from a line in “Napoleon Dynamite,” when the character’s grandmother says, “Knock it off, Napoleon! Make yourself a dang quesa-DILLA!”

The moment stuck with him. “Even then, I was looking ahead at what could be, not just what was in the textbook,” Kyle said. “At that time I thought, ‘I love quesadillas. I’m gonna make my own quesadilla restaurant.’”

Maggie, who would later become Kyle’s wife and co-founder, was pursuing a career in PR when the couple started developing the concept. They spent nights in their kitchen experimenting with dishes and sharing them with friends and family long before they had funding or a space.

“I come from a very culinary family, so they’re all our recipes,” Maggie said. “We were in our kitchen at the house testing recipes all the time and putting them in front of our friends and family. And we’ve developed every single recipe in the restaurant.”

Learning the Business the Hard Way

Before Dillas became reality, Kyle immersed himself in the restaurant world. He joined Raising Cane’s as a shift manager making $12 an hour and quickly rose through the ranks as the company expanded at lightning speed.

“I trained probably 30 or 40 GMs,” said Kyle. “The executive team all had to filter through my restaurant to get their culture training and also their ops training. So, I got inundated with a supercharged restaurant experience.”

Those years as a Managing Partner gave him a deep obsession with operations and culture. Maggie, meanwhile, built her career in PR and stayed tied to the Dillas dream. Together, they began preparing for the moment when they could bring it to life.

“That experience gave us the operational foundation and culture discipline we now pass on to franchisees,” said Kyle.

Taking the Leap Together

The Gordons opened their first Dillas in Plano, relying on resourcefulness and support from those around them. “We asked her family for money and put it in a pile along with some money from my managing partner program,” Kyle said. “That’s how Dillas number one opened in 2013.”

The early days weren’t easy, but those challenges forged their resilience and defined Dillas people-first culture.

Growing Beyond One Store

In 2018, a friend and former Raising Cane’s colleague asked to bring Dillas to Louisiana. The Gordons hesitated at first but eventually agreed — a decision that marked the beginning of their franchising journey.

“Honestly, we didn’t think we wanted to franchise the company at all,” Maggie said. “That first Louisiana deal was the spark that showed us franchising could be our growth path.”

From there, they set out to build a franchise infrastructure with the same care they had given their restaurants. For Kyle and Maggie, franchising wasn’t about chasing numbers — it was about finding operators who shared their vision.

“We’d rather grow deliberately with the right partners than chase fast expansion with the wrong ones,” said Kyle.

What Defines Them as Leaders

The Gordons lead with complementary strengths. Kyle is driven by systems, training and consistency. Maggie brings marketing, recipes and culture. Together, they balance the business while staying true to their shared values.

“So much of our work has been on manpower, culture, operations, financials, marketing — and we want to be great at all of it before we ask someone to go on this journey with us,” Maggie said.

Their selectiveness with franchisees reflects the same philosophy.

“We’re looking for passionate operators. Hopefully you can tell that operations are really important to me,” Kyle said. “We want operators who see the value in systems, culture, and community, and who want to build something lasting.”

For the couple, the dream is about more than opening units. They see success as creating predictable, profitable restaurants that also give back to their communities.

“That predictability is what makes restaurants profitable for franchisees and impactful for their communities,” Kyle said. “And predictability in restaurants? That’s the holy grail.”

Together, they continue to grow Dillas Primo Quesadillas with the same mix of hustle and heart that carried them from a college dream to a national franchise brand in the making.

“We don’t want to just be ‘a restaurant in the community,’” Maggie said. “We want to be the community’s restaurant. And we’re looking for franchise partners who share that purpose.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/dillas-quesadillas.