Atlanta Rapper 2Chainz adds ‘Franchisor’ to His Resume with Esco Restaurant

2 Chainz might be the Grammy Award-winning rapper, but it’s his business partner, Mychel “Snoop” Dillard, who he calls “a celebrity to me personally.”

“She’s smart as a whip,” said 2 Chainz of Dillard, CEO of Dillard Hospitality and co-creator of the pair’s Esco restaurant concept, now with three Atlanta locations and its first signed franchise agreement.

“She’s one of the people that really made my transition into this hospitality space easier because, originally my introduction to the space was real estate. I own properties and dirt and stuff like that,” he said. “So that merged with her passion and mine and made me very comfortable in this space going on six years now.”

Born Tauheed Epps and a one-time college athlete, 2 Chainz (then known as Tity Boi) gained recognition and scored his first major hit, “Duffle Bag Boy,” in 2007 as one half of hip-hop duo Playaz Circle. By 2011, he rebranded himself as 2 Chainz and was lending feature versus to Jason Derulo, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Eminem while putting out studio albums with Def Jam Recordings. He won a Grammy in 2017 for best rap performance as a featured artist on Chance the Rapper’s single, “No Problem.”

Esco, says co-founder Snoop Dillard, serves “lots of things you may not see in restaurants late at night,” such as lobster tail.

Dillard, who graduated from Vanderbilt University at 20 and got her start as a financial adviser and real estate investor, opened her first lounge in Nashville, Tennessee, when she was 24. She moved to Atlanta and was operating the Hookah Hideaway when her path crossed with 2 Chainz.

“I always wanted to own something on Peters Street,” she said, because “it’s a really poppin’ block.” The site she wanted, 327 Peters St. SW, was one of 2 Chainz’s properties, and after meeting and hitting it off, the two created Escobar Restaurant & Tapas, which they opened in 2016. While they can still use the Escobar name for their corporate restaurants, they’re franchising the concept as Esco after settling for $15,000 a lawsuit in 2020 brought by the family of Pablo Escobar following a dispute over the Colombian drug kingpin’s intellectual property rights.

2 Chainz described Esco this way: “It’s more lounge with great food and great atmosphere. Of course, we have the best drinks in town. We also have hookahs that attract pretty women, which attract playa guys,” he said of the nightlife vibe after 10 p.m.

“We’re a restaurant during the day, lounge by night,” said Dillard. “That’s the culture we create.” The food menu, she noted, includes “lots of things you may not see in restaurants late at night,” such as lobster tail, lamb chops and blackened catfish topped with crab meat.

2 Chainz, she continued, “brings a lot of unique ideas to the table,” such as using the front end of a gold Mercedes Benz as the DJ booth, and puts his marketing power behind the brand. “There’s a great level of trust involved between us,” she said.

Their first franchisee, Jessica Shinholster, signed to open a location in Columbus, Ohio, and Dillard said they’re finalizing deals in Dallas and Memphis, Tennessee.

Dillard, whose other ventures include a party bus rental company in Atlanta and a cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, is also franchising her salon suite concept, Remedy. “I like to keep a diverse portfolio,” she said. She opened the first Remedy in Atlanta in 2018 and has since added two more company locations in the city. The franchise program launched in fall 2021, with franchisees signed in Chicago and Atlanta.

Like others in the segment such as Sola Salon Studios, Phenix Salon Suites and My Salon Suite, Remedy rents individual spaces to stylists and other beauty professionals. Dillard’s concept also includes dedicated spaces for spa treatments. She noted the footprint can be smaller than some of her competitors, with space for 22 suites versus 40-plus at others, which makes Remedy “a little bit cheaper” for franchisees.

The franchise fee is $20,000 “and you can generally get open for less than $100,000,” she said.

Read more about 2 Chainz and his partnership with another restaurant franchise, Krystal, in the September issue of Franchise Times.