Williston Holding Company, Inc. announced today that it acquired approximately 80 percent of Mexican Restaurants, Inc. in a series of private transactions.

In a separate transaction, Williston Holding Company also announced that it entered into a merger agreement with Mexican Restaurants that is expected to close within 45-60 days. Following the merger, Williston Holding Company will own 100 percent of Mexican Restaurants.

Mexican Restaurants owns and operates 46 and franchises 11 full-service and Mexican-themed restaurants, primarily in the greater Houston metropolitan area, under the following brands: Casa Ole', Crazy Jose's, Monterey's Little Mexico, and Tortuga Mexican Kitchen. Mexican Restaurants also operates a fast-casual concept restaurant under the name Mission Burrito. 

Williston Holding Company is a North Dakota-based company formed for developing and owning certain infrastructure related projects, primarily in the Bakken region of North Dakota. Williston Holding Company currently owns four restaurants in Williston, North Dakota: Williston Brewing Company, Doc Holliday's, J Dub's Bar & Grill, and Gramma Sharon's. Several of Williston Holding Company's founders have significant restaurant operating experience with companies such as Kona Grill and P.F. Chang's. 

Marcus Jundt, CEO of Williston Holding Company, says, "We believe that our seasoned and experienced management team can help grow Mexican Restaurants, Inc. substantially over the next few years. We believe that a number of the brands have significant expansion capabilities." 

"We are proud of what we have accomplished in building our brand of restaurants and look forward to working with Williston Holding Company's management team," says Curt Glowacki, president and CEO of Mexican Restaurants.