First started on Santa Monica’s storied Muscle Beach in 1946, fast-food chain Hot Dog on a Stick is poised to find a new life beyond the West Coast as Las Vegas-based Amazing Brands Group bailed it out of the bankrupt Fat Brands Inc.
Stephen Siegel, founder of Amazing Brands, announced Wednesday that a company affiliate has acquired the octogenarian through a bankruptcy court-approved transaction. It is the latest – and the first West Coast-based – addition to the restaurant and hospitality operator’s roster of chains, which include Pinkbox Doughnuts, Siegel’s Bagelmania and Piero’s Italian Cuisine.
According to previously filed court documents on Fat Brands’ restructuring page, the price is $8 million. Amazing Brands will immediately start pursuing a flagship location on the Las Vegas Strip and potentially more in the Las Vegas Valley.
All existing employees will be retained.
“This acquisition is personal for me,” Siegel said in a statement. “I grew up loving Hot Dog on a Stick. It is one of those brands people remember with real emotion and nostalgia.”
Under new ownership, the 44-restaurant chain is set to grow with both company-owned and franchised locations.
Amazing Brands is casting a wide net for its expansion; beyond its traditional food court offerings, Hot Dog on a Stick is also looking to grow into street-front restaurants, drive-thru locations, tourist destinations and transportation hubs across the country and the world.
“Sometimes great brands simply need renewed energy, attention and a lot of love. I believe I am the right person to give Hot Dog on a Stick exactly that,” Siegel continued in the statement. “While Hot Dog on a Stick has been predominantly a West Coast success story, we believe the time has come to bring it to the rest of America – and ultimately to the world.”
Consumers may yet find Hog Dog on a Stick products in grocery stores, the company further shared. Besides the restaurant operations, the company is exploring options to build a consumer-packaged goods platform, potentially offering retail-friendly versions of The Original Fresh Hand-Stomped Lemonade and other Hot Dog on a Stick products.
Fat Brands bankruptcy
The acquisition came after the former parent company for Hot Dog on a Stick, Beverly Hills-based Fat Brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February amid unfulfilled obligations and increasingly urgent demands from lenders.
Four months later, the lenders took over in the form of FBG Bid Co., who in June acquired all assets tied to 13 dining concepts under Fat Brands for $595 million. The restructuring transferred control of over 1,700 locations worldwide, including major chains such as Fatburger, to a lender-backed ownership group.
Other brands transferred in the transaction include Fazoli’s and Round Table Pizza.
