Iconic restaurant brand started and headquartered in Lexington sold for $130 million
Fazoli’s, the fast food Italian chain headquartered in Lexington, has been sold for $130 million.
Publicly traded FAT Brands Inc. announced early Tuesday that the Los Angeles-based company is adding Fazoli’s to its stable of 15 restaurant brands, which include Round Table Pizza, Fatburger, Marble Slab Creamery, Johnny Rockets, Twin Peaks, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Buffalo’s Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, Elevation Burger, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses.
FAT Brands recently announced that it will open its first Kentucky Fatburger location, along with a Buffalo’s Express chicken wing restaurant, in Winchester next year.
“We have had an outstanding year and we couldn’t be more pleased to join forces with FAT Brands, a company that has the same growth-oriented mentality as us at Fazoli’s,” said Carl Howard, CEO of Fazoli’s, in a statement. “From co-branding to virtual kitchens to menu development opportunities, we see great value in being a part of FAT Brands.”
Like many restaurant chains with drive-thrus, Fazoli’s saw business boom during the pandemic. The company also launched a “ghost kitchen” wing concept called Wingville.
Fazoli’s was founded in Lexington in 1988 as part of Jerrico. In 1990, the original five Fazoli’s restaurants, all in Lexington, were sold off to Kuni and Carol Toyoda in 1990, who built it into a 400-restaurant brand over the next 16 years. The company was sold in 2006 to Sun Capital Partners.
A different company, Sentinel Capital Partners purchased the chain in July 2015. There are currently about 220 restaurants in 28 states, making it the largest premium quick-service restaurant in the U.S., according to a news release. More than 100 more Fazoli’s stores are planned over the next few years.
With its unlimited garlic, buttery breadsticks (a Kuni Toyoda innovation), Fazoli’s built loyal fans looking for tasty, fast quality pasta, Submarinos sandwiches, salads and more.
According to the news release, the sale is expected to close by mid-December.
No changes to the brand and headquarters will still be in Lexington, according to a spokeswoman for FAT Brands. And unlimited breadsticks are staying too.
FAT Brands has been on a buying spree: The company acquired Johnny Rockets in September of 2020, Global Franchise Group (Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Marble Slab Creamery and Pretzelmaker) in July 2021, and, most recently, Twin Peaks in September 2021.
“Fazoli’s has a great growth story, in particular, over the last year. They continue to surpass sales expectations across the board,” said FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn in the release. “We have been eyeing this category for some time; however, we were waiting for the right brand – one that is high-growth, with almost all restaurants having drive-thru access, in addition to, the synergies that we will achieve adding Fazoli’s to our portfolio of brands.
The addition of Fazoli’s will bring FAT Brands’ footprint to 2,300 franchised and corporate-owned restaurants around the world with sales of more than $2.1 billion expected in 2022. Fazoli’s, including the new stores due to open and under development, is expected to increase post-COVID normalized EBITDA by about $15 million in 2022.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 12:26 PM.
