The West Coast-born Mendocino Farms is planning to pick up the pace on growth in 2025, moving into the new markets of Colorado and Illinois for the first time.
The Los Angeles-based fast-casual sandwich chain ended 2024 with 75 locations, adding 11 restaurants last year. For 2025, which marks the chain’s 20th anniversary, Mendo, as it is more commonly known, expects to open 15 new restaurants, growing in the existing markets of California, Washington and Texas, and opening for the first time in Denver and Chicago.
CEO Kevin Miles said he hopes to reach 150 units within five years, with expansion continuing to spread to the East, eventually becoming a national chain. All units are company owned, and there are no immediate plans to franchise.
Founded in 2005 by Mario del Pero and Ellen Chen, Mendo was acquired in 2017 by private-equity firm TPG Growth. In 2023, reports indicated that TPG was exploring a possible sale of Mendo, which at the time was valued at more than $400 million.
But TPG remains the chain’s majority owner, with minority stakes held by Whole Foods Market and the co-founders. Miles said TPG remains a great partner and the brand has “plenty of capital” to execute the five-year plan.
“We’re finally hitting our stride, if you will,” said Miles. “It’s taken us 20 years to get to 75 locations, but we’re very excited about what the next 20 years could look like.”
Miles, who joined the company in 2019, led Mendo through the pandemic and its aftermath. And, like all brands, the chain has evolved, and there are more changes coming.
Last year, the chain rolled out digital menu boards, for example, and new restaurants tend to be smaller—about 2,500-square feet, compared with a range of 2,800- to 3,500-square feet in the early days.
The chain opened its first unit with a drive-thru digital pickup lane last year in San Diego. Miles said that format is being studied to see if the feature should be added to future locations, where real estate allows.
This year, Mendo plans to rework its My Mendo loyalty program to include more personalized interaction with members that will enhance digital ordering, Miles said.
And the chain is building its infrastructure. Mendo recently hired its first chief marketing officer (Matthew McCartin), for example, and chief people officer (to be announced soon).
Mendocino Farms had a strong fiscal 2023, with an average unit volume of nearly $3.9 million and sales up more than 22% to $220.5 million, according to Restaurant Business sister brand Technomic. At the time, Mendo’s sales growth was only bested among fast-casual sandwich brands by Jersey Mike’s, which was up nearly 25% that year, and which recently was recently acquired by private-equity firm Blackstone for $8 billion.
Miles said the chain also had a strong 2024, with positive sales growth in the mid-single-digit range, and AUVs continuing to grow.
But with sales split pretty evenly between sandwiches and salads on average, Mendocino Farms is a very different concept than the customizable-submarine sandwich brands led by Jersey Mike’s.
“Mendo really differentiates itself from a premium standpoint,” said Miles. “[It is] the white tablecloth meal between two slices of bread, or that white tablecloth salad … with clean ingredients, no preservatives, additives, dyes or anything like that. You get great flavors that you might not get where you created your own sandwich or curated you own sandwich or salad.”
Mendo’s sandwich menu, for example, might include a Vietnamese style Pork Belly Banh Mi with pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, cucumbers and jalapenos with Thai basil and sriracha mayo; or a Peruvian Steak with spicy aji amarillo-marinated steak with Oaxacan cheese and herb aioli on a toasted potato roll.
In 2025, the chain will focus on raising brand awareness as it moves into new markets. Mendo plans to enter another new state in 2026 (possibly Arizona) as it continues to march eastward. Successful openings in Chicago will likely unlock the Midwest, he said.
“That’s what we’re focused on,” said Miles. “New market entry, as well as continuing to develop around our food and our team.”
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