Nation's Restaurant News On the Go #87
Nation's Restaurant News
The #1 source of news and business intelligence for restaurant and foodservice industry professionals
Hey readers, NRN editor-in-chief Sam Oches here.
Like a lot of you, I’m a sucker for the television show “Shark Tank.” Whenever I flip through my hotel’s TV channels after a long day’s work on the road, I inevitably land on “Shark Tank” and watch at least one episode. (It’s not uncommon for me to fall asleep and wake up hours later to yet another episode of “Shark Tank” on the TV.)
What’s so appealing about this show? For starters, it’s very entertaining to watch the sharks fight to make a deal with the good businesses and pick apart the lesser ones. Even better, though, are the stories that unfold from the contestants who are seeking investments in their businesses. Producers prioritize companies with a good hook (“I’m solving for my child’s dietary need!” “This product has changed lives in my community!” “I poured my life savings into this!”) as well as leaders with a strong pitch and passion for their business (waterworks optional but always welcome). The combination makes for an extremely compelling narrative from most of the pitching businesses — and very good TV.
There are so many similar stories in the restaurant industry (and yes, a lot of them have gone on “Shark Tank”). All over the country, entrepreneurs of all stripes and with a variety of perspectives and experiences are opening restaurants, pouring their passion, energy, and often life savings into them. Some are so successful that they expand to multiple locations and communities, with the potential for many more. But sweat equity alone cannot scale a business. Entrepreneurs need more resources to grow — resources like education, strong network connections, and especially capital.
NRN’s annual event for entrepreneurs, called CREATE: The Event for Emerging Restaurateurs, is the perfect place to find those resources. That’s especially true after we added the Investment Summit, which is co-located with CREATE and brings restaurant entrepreneurs together with investors for education and networking. This year’s CREATE and Investment Summit — held Oct. 8-11 in Nashville — are the biggest and best yet and are sure to launch a number of emerging brands into their next phase of growth. (We even have a “Shark Tank”-style pitch session for four lucky brands at the Investment Summit.)
If you watch “Shark Tank” and see yourself and your business in those entrepreneurs who are pitching to the sharks, head to create.nrn.com to register for free to these special events. It’s not TV, but it’s the next best thing. See you in Nashville!
NRN’s second annual Investment Summit finalizes agenda for emerging restaurant leaders
Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) is excited to announce the agenda for its second-annual Investment Summit, which is co-located with the publication’s CREATE: The Event for Emerging Restaurateurs in Nashville, Tenn., this Oct. 8-11.
The 2024 Investment Summit will feature three educational panels, a “Shark Tank”-style pitch session, a keynote discussion with the founder of Walk-On’s and Smalls Sliders, and networking roundtables that give operators a chance to connect face-to-face with investors.
“Last year’s Investment Summit proved there’s a need among emerging brand leaders to connect with investors and learn about the financing options available to them,” said Sam Oches, NRN’s editor-in-chief. “This year’s Summit is meeting that need and then some, with more than 20 investors participating and double the number of educational sessions and networking opportunities.”
Football season is here: 15 current and former NFL players in the restaurant industry
With the 2024 NFL season underway, it’s a good reminder that the athlete to restaurant franchising pipeline remains strong, particularly for former football players looking for their second career.?
Former quarterbacks, running backs and more have turned their attention from the gridiron to the griddle after their days of tackling are over (though some athletes have gotten into the restaurant industry during their football careers), including former New York Giants wide receiver?Victor Cruz, and former defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts, Donnell Thompson.?
Red Lobster’s sale is approved by bankruptcy court
Red Lobster’s petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has been approved, paving the way for its sale to creditors, led by Fortress Investment Group.
The new proposed owner is RL Investor Holdings LLC. It was created by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress as well as TCW Private Credit and Blue Torch Capital.
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Fortress also owns SPB Hospitality, which?owns Krystal, Logan’s Roadhouse, J. Alexander’s, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, and several other restaurant brands.
TCW and Blue Torch are both private credit firms that focus on middle-market companies.
The plan is essentially what Red Lobster requested when it filed for bankruptcy protection in May.
Callaway will spin off its Topgolf brand in 2025
Less than a month after disclosing that its Topgolf brand was under strategic review, parent company Callaway today announced its plans to spin off the eatertainment brand. Callaway completed its acquisition of?Topgolf?in March 2021 for $2.6 billion and changed its name to Topgolf Callaway Brands to reflect the merger.
At the time, Topgolf had around 70 venues with plans to open 11 per year for the next five years.?The first several quarters went swimmingly, with Topgolf?generating nearly 40%?of the company’s total revenues by 2022. The company finished 2023 with 89 locations, according to Technomic data.
That momentum has since slowed, however, and advisors were hired in the second quarter after an 8% same-store sales decline and a guidance adjustment downward, including a slowed growth to the mid-single-digit range. Executives cited “macroeconomic volatility” for the decline, which accelerated to -11% in July. Now the ball is in the board's court and, in?a release posted Wednesday after market, Callaway noted that it will continue to evaluate options for separation, though Topgolf spinning into a standalone company is the most likely scenario.
Here’s why Sweetgreen no longer wants to be fully automated
Just a little over a year after Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman told investors he expects all Sweetgreen stores to be fully automated within the next five years, the Los Angeles-based fast-casual brand seems to be backtracking on that claim.
Sweetgreen CFO Mitch Reback spoke at the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference on Thursday about the company’s performance and development plans, and said that while the Infinite Kitchen fully automated store model has higher margins and lower employee turnover rates, they the company won’t convert every store to this model.
“I don’t think you’ll see them in every single store for the reason that we have a lot of older smaller stores in the D.C. area and Philadelphia, and we would probably not go back and retrofit,” Reback said. “We’ve disclosed that 50% of new stores will use the Infinite Kitchen model.”
How childhood friends turned Asian soul food chain Mecha Noodle Bar into a hot concept
Co-owners Tony Pham and Rich Reyes share how this full-service, Connecticut-based concept is connecting with guests in new markets.
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