Darden Restaurants on Friday announced it signed area development agreements with two leading multi-brand restaurant operators in Latin America.
Grupo Piramide will develop Red Lobster and two other Darden brands in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Coasta Rica while Dosil will develop the concepts in Peru.
“We are excited to expand our presence in Latin America through these arguments with Grupo Piramide and Dosil, both of which are the premier chain restaurant operators in their markets,” said Kim Lopdrup, Darden senior VP of business development.
“As we’ve stated previously, Darden remains committed to owning and operating its restaurants domestically. We believe the best way to expand internationally, however, is to partner with outstanding local chain restaurant operators, so we can benefit from their existing infrastructure, market knowledge and relationships.”
Grupo Piramide is the leading multi-brand restaurant company in Central America. It operates five American casual dining brands as well as Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. It has a total of 662 restaurants and over 19,000 employees.
Dosil is part of the leading multi-brand restaurant company in Peru. It operates Chili’s, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King. It has a total of 302 restaurants and 11,000 employees.