The casual-dining segment wasn't significantly active in the M&A market in 2022, but from the action that did happen, there was variety.
READ: QUICK-SERVICE'S 19 MOST IMPACTFUL ACQUISITIONS
Private equity firms, franchisees, and public companies all played a role in purchases, ranging from an emerging chicken chain to a budding taco fast casual. The following is a list of the 10 most important acquisitions to remember from 2022.
Purchasing Company: Dave & Buster's
Sold Company: Main Event
Price Tag: $835 million
Main Event, which offers bowling, laser tag, arcade games, and virtual reality, operates approximately 50 locations in 17 states, including The Summit, a three-unit eatertainment chain based in Colorado.
Kevin Sheehan, former interim CEO of Dave & Buster's, described the transaction as a "transformational combination," noting that Main Event's model, footprint, and asset quality align well with Dave & Buster's. The two concepts don't cannibalize each other either; while Main Event targets families and children, Dave & Buster's goes after young adults.
Purchasing Company: Savory Fund
Sold Company: Sicilian Butcher
Price Tag: Undisclosed
As part of the agreement, Savory Fund will invest up to $30 million in the Sicilian Butcher and the Sicilian Baker. Both emerging chains fall under the Maggiore Group, run by married couple Joey and Cristina Maggiore and their business partner, Flora Tersigni.
Savory Fund expects to open almost 20 units in the next four years. The Sicilian Butcher is known for its hand-rolled meatballs, scratch-made spaghetti, and Sicilian-style charcuterie platters, which reach 5-feet long.
Purchasing Company: Denny's
Sold Company: Keke's Breakfast Cafe
Price Tag: $82.5 million
Keke's Breakfast Cafe has 52 restaurants in Florida, 44 of which are franchise restaurants owned by 19 operators. It earned an AUV of $1.9 million in 2021, up from $1.6 million before the pandemic, and unit-level margins range from the high teens to low 20s.
The emerging company grew same-store sales 18 percent year-over-year in 2021, and 12 percent through May year-to-date. The most impressive stat, arguably, is the company didn’t close any restaurant in the past two years.
Purchasing Company: BRS & Co., Rosser Capital, and Doug Thompson
Sold Company: Tumble 22
Price Tag: Undisclosed
Tumble 22, which uses Texas-raised chicken and proprietary seasoning, was founded by Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles. The chicken comes in six heat levels, from "wimpy" to "stupid hot," and is hand-breaded and tumbled exactly 22 times, hence the name. Four of the casual-dining restaurants are based in the Greater Austin area while the fifth is in Houston.
The restaurant grew from a food trailer to five units in fewer than four years, according to its website. Industry veteran Doug Thompson is CEO. He spent almost 20 years at Texas Roadhouse before retiring in November 2021.
Purchasing Company: Bob Basham
Sold Company: Glory Days Grill
Price Tag: Undisclosed
Outback cofounder Bob Basham, a franchisee of sports bar Glory Days Grill, acquired the company's 22-unit corporate footprint in Virginia and Maryland, to go with his franchised units.
The industry veteran purchased the restaurants from Glory Days cofounders Robert Garner and Jeff Newman. Third cofounder Richard Danker, the brother of Basham, co-owns the new corporate entity, while Garner and Newman retired.
Purchasing Company: MTY Holdings
Sold Company: BBQ Holdings
Price Tag: $200 million
MTY Holdings announced the move in August.
BBQ Holdings has expanded to 10 casual and fast-casual restaurants through a series of M&A moves in recent years. The portfolio now includes Famous Dave's, Village Inn, Granite City, Bakers Square, Real Urban BBQ, Tahoe Joe's, Barrio Queen, and a group of independents. The company operates more than 200 franchised and 100 corporately owned locations in 37 states, Canada, and United Arab Emirates.
Purchasing Company: The Greene Turtle
Sold Company: Clark Crew BBQ
Price Tag: Undisclosed
The Greene Turtle announced in June that it acquired Clark Crew BBQ, an independent casual-dining concept in Oklahoma City. The restaurant, which has won more than 700 Top 10 awards, was founded in 2019 through a collaboration between Travis Clark and Famous Dave's parent BBQ Holdings.
As part of the transaction, The Greene Turtle formed ITA Group Holdings, a new multi-brand platform that will own and operate The Greene Turtle, Clark Crew BBQ, and Founder Growth Platform (FGP), a consultancy that partners with multiple fast-casual startups.
Purchasing Company: Executive Decisions Group
Sold Company: The Lost Cajun
Price Tag: Undisclosed
The Lost Cajun, which filed bankruptcy more than a year ago, was acquired by investment firm Executive Decisions Group (EDGI) last spring.
The deal includes the chain's franchise system, a company-owned unit in Slidell, Louisiana, and The Lost Cajun Spice Company, an entity created in 2016 to coordinate the sale and distribution of goods to restaurants. The business will be operated through EDGI's newly formed subsidiary, Happy Cajun Hospitality.
Purchasing Company: BBQ Holdings
Sold Company: Barrio Queen
Price Tag: $28 million
In March 2022, BBQ Holdings signed a $28 million asset purchase agreement to acquire Barrio Queen, a Mexican fine-dining chain based in Phoenix. In 2021, Barrio Queen generated $35 million in revenue and $5 million in AUV. BBQ Holdings believes the brand has franchising potential, with a 19 percent restaurant-level margin.
Purchasing Company: Dine Brands (parent of IHOP and Applebee's)
Sold Company: Fuzzy's Taco Shop
Price Tag: $80 million
Fuzzy's Taco Shop includes 138 restaurants in 18 states—roughly 98 percent of which is franchised—and has as a development pipeline with more than 125 contracted obligations. As of early December, the chain was earning $1.6 million in AUV, and same-store sales were growing 3 percent.
Of Fuzzy's three dayparts, dinner mixes 52 percent, followed by lunch (42 percent), and breakfast (6 percent). Off-premises accounts for 40 percent of sales.