New Qdoba to open in North Lindenhurst amid LI expansion

A new Qdoba will soon open in North Lindenhurst as a local franchise group continues to grow on the Island.

The Mexican fast-casual eatery will open in 2,360 square feet at 136 E Sunrise Hwy. by the end of the month, said franchisee Jeff Froccaro. He also plans to open another Qdoba in Riverhead before the end of the year.

The new restaurants will add to Froccaro and his brother John's seven existing Qdoba restaurants on Long Island, plus two in Brooklyn, but Froccaro plans to open even more, he said.

"Our hope is over the next two to five years to grow to roughly 20 restaurants," on Long Island, said Froccaro, who grew up on Long Island and lives in Sands Point.

For example, the group will open the North Lindenhurst Qdoba near one of its existing Burger Kings, which Froccaro said has done "very well."

"We feel like [North Lindenhurst] is going to be a really dynamite location," Froccaro said. "The site itself is very visible, on a highly trafficked road, [and] it's close to the town center and the highway."

The restaurant group is also building a Dave's Hot Chicken next door to their 2,400-square-foot Qdoba in Deer Park at 1822 Deer Park Ave., which opened in January, Froccaro said. They decided to double down on Deer Park because it's "one of the busiest corridors" in the region, Froccaro said.

Jeff and John Froccaro opened their first Qdoba in 2018 in East Meadow. In 2019, they opened another in Plainview, replacing The Bakery at Plainview Shopping Center, followed by Farmingdale in 2020, Massapequa in 2021 and in Bay Shore in 2022, Newsday reported.

They have plans for another 2,100-square-foot Qdoba in Riverhead at 949 Old Country Rd. at the site of a former Friendly's restaurant, which Froccaro said he hopes to open in the fall or winter of this year.

Their expansion mirrors Qdoba's growth nationally as the chain competes with peer restaurants Chipotle and Taco Bell. Qdoba had 827 stores nationwide by the end of 2025 and saw an 8% increase in total sales volume, according to data from the Chicago-based restaurant industry analysis firm Technomic.

Qdoba's sales growth last year "outpaced the broader fast casual segment," Kevin Schimpf, Technomic's senior director of industry research, said in a statement.

But Qdoba "continues to face stiff competition from its core rivals Chipotle Mexican Grill and Taco Bell," Schimpf added. Both eateries have many locations on Long Island.

The Froccaros, who run Port Washington-based Burger Brothers Restaurant Group, are no strangers to competition.

They operate around 45 Burger Kings, Qdobas and more recently Dave's Hot Chickens on Long Island and New York City, Froccaro said. Occasionally, they will place a different brand in the same neighborhood as another one of their restaurants, Froccaro said.

The Froccaros plan to open two new Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants at 141 Alexander Ave. in St. James and 3963 Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown by the end of the year, Froccaro said.

Their group had originally slated Qdobas for those locations, but felt Dave's Hot Chicken was a better fit for the St. James space near Smith Haven Mall and for the spot in Levittown, Froccaro said.