“There’s a scene where [Napoleon’s] grandma is leaving to go out of town and he asks, ‘Well, what’s there to eat?’ And she’s like, ‘Fix yourself a dang quesadilla!’" Gordon said, highlighting the character’s pronunciation: “quesa-dill-uh.”
Gordon said "Dillas"—pronounced "Dill-uhs"—was the perfect name for a quesadilla-only restaurant.
16 years later, Gordon and his wife, Maggie, have opened three Dillas restaurants in the Dallas Fort-Worth area. The “quality convenience” restaurant, which Gordon said is the border of fast casual and fast food, specializes in quesadilla meals.
Gordon said the idea for Dillas came while he attended college in Austin and saw fast casual concepts, such as Chipotle, Freebirds and Pei Wei, succeed on elevated cuisine and good service, but with easy access.
After opening over 100 restaurants with Raising Cane’s, Gordon began pursuing his college dream full-time in 2013— the same year the first Dillas opened in Plano.
After seeing success in Plano, he said, the Frisco location came along in 2017 and the McKinney one in 2018. Gordon said location selection was based on community connection.
“We don’t have a sophisticated real estate selection algorithm. We just want to be in good communities that we feel like we can support and that will support us,” he said.
Gordon said the goal of each Dillas restaurant is to help its community, whether through program advertisement or assisting local schools with football and spirit nights.
Customers have turned out for Dillas during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gordon said.
“I’m very proud and happy that we are well-positioned for the pandemic,” he said. “80% of our business is catering, takeout, online order, delivery, online order takeout and drive-thru.”
Dillas’ focus on quesadillas and various customization options helps the restaurant stand out for customers, Gordon said.
“You have this unique fusion of french fries and quesadillas. We bring in all these flavors. Like, the Buffalo Bacon is chicken, blue cheese, bacon and Frank’s hot sauce,” he said. “We really try to go deep on that niche and not get distracted. You’re never going to find burritos or tacos or anything else at Dillas. We sell Dillas."
Dillas Primo Quesadillas
2008 Midway Road, Plano
972-473-4601 | www.dillas.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
