Who owns Baja Fresh?
Baja Fresh is owned by MTY Group (Canada, TSX: MTY), which has owned the brand since 2016.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: MTY Food Group Inc. Management's Discussion and Analysis for the 13 and 26-week periods ended May 31, 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- MTY Food Group Inc. reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇨🇦 Canada, Saint-Laurent, Québec
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Category
- Restaurants & foodservice › Fast casual › Fast casual restaurants
- Parent ticker
- TSX: MTY
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Baja Fresh
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill is an American fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain. MTY Food Group acquired it in October 2016 through the purchase of BF Acquisition Holdings, which also owned the smaller La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill; the two chains together had 167 franchised and 16 company-run restaurants at the time. The deal came three months after MTY's purchase of Kahala Brands, the group that owns Cold Stone Creamery.
Ownership timeline of Baja Fresh
Where Baja Fresh sits in MTY Group
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full MTY Group ownership tree →
See the full MTY Group brand portfolio (8) →
Other brands owned by MTY Group
MTY Group controls 8 brands on Brandtree, 8 of them in restaurants & foodservice.
Also in restaurants & foodservice
Other brands in fast casual restaurants, and who owns them
The 23 brands in fast casual restaurants on Brandtree belong to 17 owners. The largest is Café de Coral, with 3; MTY Group has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Café de Coral | Café de Coral | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong |
| Debonairs Pizza | Famous Brands | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| PieXpress | Food Concepts | 🇳🇬 Nigeria |
| Einstein Bros. Bagels | Panera Brands | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Delilah's | BMMI | 🇧🇭 Bahrain |
| Flower Child | Cheesecake Factory | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill | Chipotle | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Billy Tacos | Cremonini | 🇮🇹 Italy |
About the owner: MTY Group
MTY Group is a publicly listed company headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Québec, Canada. Brandtree records 8 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSX: MTY.
MTY Food Group is a Montreal franchisor of quick-service, fast-casual and casual dining restaurants, with 7,040 locations at 31 May 2026 under more than eighty banners, almost all of them run by franchisees. It grew by acquisition: the American group Kahala Brands in 2016, Papa Murphy's in 2019, and BBQ Holdings and Wetzel's Pretzels in 2022. Cold Stone Creamery and Papa Murphy's are the only two banners that each account for more than a tenth of sales across its network. In November 2025 its board confirmed a strategic review that could include a sale of all or part of the company.
🇺🇸 Baja Fresh and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,399 brands that began in the United States. 461 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Baja Fresh among them.
- Applebee's — Dine Brands 🇺🇸
- Arby's — Inspire Brands 🇺🇸
- Bonefish Grill — Bloomin' Brands 🇺🇸
- Burger King — Restaurant Brands International 🇨🇦
- Caribou Coffee — Panera Brands 🇺🇸
- Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen — Darden 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Baja Fresh?
The parent company of Baja Fresh is MTY Group, a publicly listed company headquartered in Canada.
Is Baja Fresh American or Canadian?
Baja Fresh originated in the United States, but it is owned today by MTY Group, which is headquartered in Canada. So Baja Fresh is an American-origin brand under Canadian ownership.
Since when has MTY Group owned Baja Fresh?
MTY Group has owned Baja Fresh since 2016.
Is Baja Fresh still owned by MTY Group?
Yes. As of 2 October 2026, Baja Fresh is still owned by MTY Group. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] MTY Food Group Inc. Management's Discussion and Analysis for the 13 and 26-week periods ended May 31, 2026 — MTY Food Group Inc., Annual report; retrieved 2 October 2026.
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