Qdoba, Checkers Franchisees Turn to Retail with 23-Unit PayMore Deal

The Integritty Group, helmed by an experienced business trio, is set to expand its operations beyond restaurants with the signing of an agreement with electronics retailer PayMore. The 23 stores will add to a list of concepts that includes Qdoba, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Checkers.

Since its founding in 2015, The Integritty Group has established a robust franchise operation spanning 50 units across several restaurant brands.

Helmed by entrepreneurs Jiger Patel, Pranav Desai and Raj Mahadevia, TIG owns units in Qdoba, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Checkers and Green Turtle Sports Bar and Grille. While its portfolio is diverse in terms of brands, Patel said the TIG team saw potential to add a different vertical outside of restaurants.

“We had been doing restaurants for a long time, but we were always looking for an opportunity to do something separate from that,” Patel said. “We looked into healthcare, fitness and electronics. We eventually discovered PayMore and the more we did research on them, we saw a great business to add to what we have now.”

For Patel, it marks a pivot from a long career in restaurant franchising. He started as a franchisee in 2001 with Dunkin’ and, before establishing TIG, built an operation up to 13 locations with the likes of Dunkin,’ Checkers and Popeyes. What helped him become comfortable with the latest and different type of business was the brand’s executive team.

“I can’t discount the leadership PayMore has,” Patel said. “It’s not possible for us to join a brand if we don’t have the right leadership behind the concept. We put a lot of time, energy and capital when investing in a brand, so we want to make sure it’s going to be in the right place with the right leadership.”

Desai, who brought experience in strategy management consulting with IBM before founding TIG, acknowledged the learning curve for the team with its retail pivot. But he said what PayMore has built over the years provided confidence.

“We understood the restaurant business and the kinds of margins that come with it,” Desai said. “PayMore was new for us so we had to understand the business model. But we also saw the strong unit-level economics. Their team has also spent more than 10 years building the backbone of their system, and we were impressed in how it was run.”

PayMore, based in New York, was founded in 2011 and today has 74 locations open with another 600 in development. CEO Stephen Preuss said he was equally impressed with TIG.

“You can tell by their knowledge, education and previous execution that they are perfect multi-unit franchisees for us,” Preuss said. “We’re conservative in how we approach these larger-unit groups. We dig into their background and ability to execute a plan, especially one with several units and multiple territories.”

While they are careful in how they select partners for multi-unit agreements, it’s now a routine for the retail concept as it’s become more established.

“We’ve elevated our systems, support and technology,” Preuss said. “We now have a nice balance of data and E-commerce infused with the brick-and-mortar retail elements. So, we can open up these stores at a quicker rate, and have evolved to take on larger initial developments.”

These larger deals have ranged from a 35-unit agreement in the Southeast, to international signings for more than 100 stores in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

For their agreement, Patel said the decision to develop 23 units was based on opening in markets where TIG already has a presence. This includes regions in Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Preuss said he expects to double PayMore’s unit count and reach about 150 stores by the end of this year, and double its locations again in 2026. The initial investment to open a PayMore ranges from $139,250 to $266,500.