“We’re not done,” said Chief Executive Andy Wiederhorn, adding that he’s looking to close two more deals before year’s end. “It’s a great time to make these acquisitions. They’re all strategic and make sense for us as a business.”
FAT Brands acquired Johnny Rockets in September of 2020 for $25 million; Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Marble Slab Creamery and Pretzelmaker in July for $443 million; and the Twin Peaks restaurant chain Oct. 1 for $300 million. Other brands under its management include Fatburger, Elevation Burger, Buffalo’s Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Yalla Mediterranean as well as Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouses.
Wiederhorn said Fazoli’s has been on his radar for some time.
“I’ve known the CEO for a number of years, and we’ve watched this brand grow, and what we love about it is, it’s in the (quick-service restaurant) space — the fast-food space — so that’s lower price point,” he said. “Also, 99% of the restaurants have drive-thru (options), and that’s very resilient to Covid and lockdowns.”
The Italian food category is also a positive from Wiederhorn’s perspective.
“It’s delicious,” he said. “When you think of FAT Brands, (it stands for) fresh, authentic and tasty brands. That’s our mantra. We just refuse to do a deal with a brand when we don’t like the food.”
Fazoli’s has 30 corporate employees and 1,000 more working at 50 company-owned restaurants. Another 150 locations are franchised and 100 more are under development. The chain is expected to generate about $300 million in systemwide sales this year, according to Wiederhorn.
The deal, set to close next month, will increase FAT Brands’ footprint to 2,300 franchised and corporate-owned stores and bring its 2022 expected systemwide sales to more than $2.1 billion.
FAT Brands reported a loss of $3.6 million on $29 million in revenue for the third quarter that ended Sept. 26. Systemwide sales for the quarter grew 378% compared to the same period last year and were up 237% from the more stable third quarter of 2019.
