Austin-based Torchy's Tacos is leveraging several new investors to help it more than double its footprint by entering 10 states over the next four years, according to a company press release.

D1 Capital Partners, T. Rowe Price, Lone Pine Capital and XN are joining the chain's majority shareholder — General Atlantic — a global growth equity firm, in funding the company. Torchy's founder Michael Rypka and all members of the original ownership group will reinvest as individuals.

"All of us at Torchy's are incredibly grateful to Mike and the original ownership group that built this amazing brand over the past 14 years, and we are thrilled that they will all remain a part of the ownership group as individuals," Torchy's CEO G.J. Hart said in the release. "We are also very fortunate to welcome investors of the caliber of D1 Capital Partners, T. Rowe Price, Lone Pine Capital and XN. Pairing these four firms with our existing partner, General Atlantic, we feel that we have assembled a premier ownership group that will allow us to accelerate our growth and write the next chapter in Torchy's history."

Founded in a food trailer in 2006, Torchy's has 83 locations in seven states, with an average unit volume of $3.8 million. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand has opened 12 units this year.

"Since our initial investment in 2017, Torchy's has demonstrated the strength of its brand as it has successfully captured impressive unit growth," said Andrew Crawford, chairman of Torchy's and global head of consumer at General Atlantic. "We admire the management team's deep operational experience and commitment to providing an original and differentiated experience. We believe their vision will continue to resonate across a wide-ranging demographic of guests, geographies and footprints as Torchy's expands across the United States."

Copyright © 2020 Networld Media. All rights reserved., source Industry News