CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries announced Thursday that it has completed a deal to acquire Logan’s Roadhouse. The new multi-brand restaurant group has been rebranded as “CraftWorks Holdings.”
Logan’s current chief executive officer, Hazem Ouf, will take the reins of the new platform, which is made up of 393 restaurants across 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Logan’s, which opened in 1991, filed for bankruptcy in August 2016. To bring down its debt from $400 million to $100 million, the 27-year-old brand initially closed 34 restaurants of its 256 locations. Today, Logan’s has 204 corporate and franchise restaurants in 22 states.
Ouf, who is a turnaround expert and industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience, joined the company as CEO in January 2017. The company also brought on David Catalano as chief operating officer last summer to help further efforts to put the brand back on a positive track.
“I am excited to lead the new combined enterprise under the umbrella of Craftworks Holdings, and I look forward to leveraging our combined capabilities to deliver unique and memorable dining experiences,” Hazem Ouf, chairman and chief executive officer of CraftWorks Holdings, said in a statement. “Our name ‘CraftWorks’ reflects the spirit and high quality of ‘Crafted Signature Food & Beverage’ and our passion for serving our brands, guests, team members and our communities. We believe that our cumulative restaurant industry experience, the company’s extensive infrastructure, and the financial strength of our investors will allow us to drive excellence in service and quality within a scalable full-service dining platform.”
“By creating CraftWorks Holdings, we have laid the foundation for a premiere restaurant & brewery holding company to provide long-term growth opportunities for our brands, team members and franchise partners and established a platform that is well positioned for future growth and acquisitions,” added Ouf.
The acquisition from CraftWorks is another step in the right direction for the brand. By combining the two companies, the new platform will have a hand in full-service dining, craft beer, and restaurant-brewery industries. CraftWorks Holdings will be comprised of Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, Rock Bottom Restaurants and Breweries, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, and Logan’s.
“We are delighted to partner with Hazem Ouf as the Chairman and CEO of CraftWorks Holdings and welcome Logan’s Roadhouse and all of their associates to the CraftWorks family,” Matt Kabaker, senior managing director of Centerbridge Partners, L.P., which, through investment funds affiliated with it, controls CraftWorks Holdings, said in a statement. “Hazem is an accomplished hospitality industry leader with extensive experience spanning multiple concepts and restaurant segments. He has an impressive track record of driving brand revitalization while delivering strong financial performance, including the recent comprehensive turnaround of Logan’s. Hazem’s unique skill set and passion for the business make him an ideal partner for the next stage of growth and development at CraftWorks.”
