Dive Brief:
- SPB Hospitality, a portfolio company of Fortress Investment Group, has sold its brewery brands and some of its specialty concepts to an affiliate of Kelly Companies of Southern California, according to an email sent to Restaurant Dive. Following the transaction SPB will focus on its flagship brands: Krystal, Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, J. Alexander’s, Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill, Amada Vino + Tapas, and Village Whiskey.
- The sale comes just months after SPB Hospitality bought Amada and Village Whiskey from Jose Garces in July for an undisclosed amount.
Dive Insight:
The brands SPB has sold are Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, ChopHouse & Brewery, Ragtime Tavern and Seven Bridges Grille and Brewery. Altogether, these brands operate 16 units.
SPB acquired many of the concepts from Craftworks Holdings following a bankruptcy in 2020. The company paid about $93 million for those brands. Alone among the spoils of that deal, SPB is keeping Old Chicago and Logan’s.
The sale to Kelly Companies will allow SPB Hospitality to focus on the growth of its remaining brands, especially Krystal, which plans to reach 500 units in the near future.
“This marks a transformational chapter for SPB Hospitality as we double down on the growth of our flagship brands and the integration of our recently acquired concepts from Chef Jose Garces,” said Josh Kern, CEO of SPB Hospitality.
Kelly Companies, which owns legacy brands like Claim Jumper, Champs Kitchen + Bar and Whiskey River, said the acquisition of the brewery and specialty brands will deepen its portfolio. The transaction will add 16 total locations, including flagship and airport venues, to Kelly’s 20-unit portfolio.
The deal comes at the end of a relatively slow year for mergers and acquisitions. Outside of bankruptcy sales, there were a handful of multi-billion dollar sales, including Blackstone’s majority buyout of Jersey Mike’s and its acquisition of Tropical Smoothie Cafe. One Group Hospitality and Darden expanded their portfolios with additional brands, and Roark Capital’s acquisition of Subway closed.
