Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. has agreed to acquire Fazoli’s for $130 million from funds under management by Sentinel Capital Partners. This acquisition brings to FAT Brands the largest premium QSR Italian chain in the U.S., and will be funded with cash from the issuance of new notes from the company’s securitization facilities. The transaction is expected to close by mid-December 2021. The planned acquisition of Fazoli’s further speaks to FAT Brands’ recent diversification of its restaurant portfolio, making a foray into the Italian quick-service dining …
restaurants
League City, Texas — Muscle Maker Inc., the parent company of Muscle Maker Grill, Pokemoto and SuperFit Foods, has inked a Master Franchise Agreement for 40 units in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, solidifying the company’s second multi-unit international deal. The newly signed 40-unit agreement will grow the company’s international footprint by 400%. Muscle Maker Grill previously signed a 10-unit deal in Kuwait. Muscle Makers’ current Kuwaiti international franchise partners Abrar Kadhem Almatrouk, Abdullah Kadhem Almatrouk, Yousef Kadhem Almatrouk and Essa Kadhem Almatrouk will expand the brand across Saudi Arabia …
Houston — Shipley Do-Nuts, the iconic Houston-born do-nut shop brand, celebrated its 85th anniversary with a groundbreaking on Oct. 28 for its new 60,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at Cullen and Gulf Freeway in Houston. The site is well-known to Houstonians as the location of the old Finger Furniture flagship showroom and, before that, Buff Stadium, home to minor league baseball’s Houston Buffalos from 1928-1961. The state-of-the-art facility, slated to open in the last quarter of 2022, will feature a full working flagship Shipley Do-Nut shop with an interior drive-thru going right …
Houston — Grinders Coffee Bar and CBD Apothecary is preparing to become the go-to upscale destination for exploring natural cannabis derivatives and Hemp-infused coffee, mocktails/cocktails, pastries and more in a “lounge” type environment when it reopens to the Houston community as Wild. With the help of Dallas-based architecture and design firm Harrison, Wild will open as a boutique dispensary, coffee shop and bar in a lounge environment. Harrison’s work for Wild spans from identity exploration and concept development to extensive branding such as logo, packaging, merchandising and building design. The …
San Diego — Jack in the Box Inc., one of the nation’s leading QSR chains, has awarded seven development agreements in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 to open 47 new restaurants. In total, Jack in the Box has awarded 23 development agreements in fiscal year 2021 to build 111 stores over the course of the next several years. The agreements will help the brand grow in existing markets including Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston, as well as new ones such as Salt Lake City and Louisville, Ky., indicating …
Montréal — Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale and create exceptional customer experiences, has launched the all-new Lightspeed Restaurant, a unified hospitality commerce and point-of-sale (POS) platform. Through strategic global acquisitions, Lightspeed has combined the power of Upserve, Gastrofix, Kounta and iKentoo with new solutions and modules, to simplify processes and enable merchants to build thriving businesses for the future. This best-in-class solution built through years of strategic investments and innovation, brings together an innovative POS, contactless integrated payments, online ordering, …
Phoenix — Peter Piper, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CEC Entertainment, LLC, which also owns Chuck E. Cheese and Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings, signed an agreement to acquire nine Tucson and one Phoenix-area Peter Piper Pizza restaurants owned by franchisee Southwest Pizza, Inc. Local Tucson family-owned Southwest Pizza, Inc., which has been a Peter Piper Pizza franchisee for nearly 40 years, decided to sell all its locations earlier this year. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Peter Piper, LLC, will take over the operations of these locations …
New York City — Time Out Market, the world’s first food and cultural market rooted in editorial curation, has hired Jay Coldren as chief operating officer of the Americas. In this newly created role, he will report to CEO Didier Souillat and will be instrumental in expanding the footprint, driving efficiency and increasing profitability of the Time Out Market brand across the Americas. Coldren brings more than 30 years of hospitality experience spanning the restaurant, boutique hotel and gourmet retail segments. Most recently, he served as the executive director of …
Alexandria, Va. — Fransmart, a global franchise development company, is expanding its leadership team with the appointment of seasoned food industry executive Don Baruch as vice president of franchise support operations. Baruch brings more than 25 years of franchise development and operations experience to the position. Most recently, he was vice president of development for BurgerBusters, a more than 150-unit franchisee of Yum! Brands with Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, as well as several other national brands. “An experienced franchisee, franchisor and franchise owner, Don brings a unique …
San Diego — Jack in the Box, Inc. has named Doug Cook as senior vice president and chief technology officer after an interim stint in the same position. Cook brings more than 20 years of industry experience to Jack in the Box. Before joining Jack in the Box, he was with Pizza Hut and Sonic. Cook most recently served as interim chief technology officer of Jack in the Box, effectively leading the technology team and strategy during his interim period. Prior to that, Cook served as chief information officer at …