-
3 days ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Emilee Wentland |Joe Halpern
Pappas Restaurants will buy On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina out of bankruptcy. The Texas-based restaurant group operates Pappasito’s Cantina, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen and other concepts. On the Border filed for bankruptcy in March, citing about $25 million in debt, after closing nearly 80 restaurants earlier this year. As of March 4, On the Border owes CrossFirst Bank $11.7 million.
-
1 week ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
The 60-year-old restaurant company is introducing smaller prototypes, an expanded menu and updated logo with the hopes of attracting younger customers and spark new development in non-traditional markets. Huddle House, the full-service and 24-hour dining chain, is ready to start the next chapter with new prototype restaurants and menu enhancements designed to attract younger customers and to grow its footprint in non-traditional markets.
-
1 week ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
Dan Jacobson, along with his daughter and son-in-law, have grown their i9 Sports business in four territories in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, by offering Nike Kids Camps. Becoming an i9 Sports franchisee was a life-changing event for Dan Jacobson and his family.
-
2 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
Boardroom, a 21-year-old upscale men’s grooming and styling company, recently acquired Finley’s Barbershop. After expanding mainly with corporate units, Boardroom is ready to file its first franchise disclosure document in more than a dozen years. Boardroom Styling Lounge underwent a lot of changes this year, and its new CEO is hoping they lead to growing customer membership and ignite further development for the 21-year-old brand.
-
2 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
Ask investors what they look for in emerging brands these days and you’ll likely get an assortment of answers. The one thing that they can pretty much agree on is that when considering investing in an emerging franchise brand it needs to have demonstrated success outside their core market and opening new locations.
-
3 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
Industry veteran Charlie Morrison was named the new CEO of Jersey Mike’s Subs, and will take over one of the largest sandwich companies with global sales exceeding $3.3 billion and with more than 3,000 locations in the United States and Canada. Morrison succeeds founder Peter Cancro as Jersey Mike’s top executive after Cancro led the Manasquan, New Jersey-based company for the last 50 years.
-
3 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Emilee Wentland |Matthew Liedke |Joe Halpern
Ever wonder how consumers feel about your franchise? Franchise Times editorial staffers check out three brands in a different genre each month, and report back in FT Undercover. One thing sit-down chain restaurants always get right is the number of free soda refills. The server at this TGI Fridays (A) outside of Minneapolis must have sensed my Diet Coke enthusiasm and brought a refill before the first glass was even halfway empty.
-
3 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
This story is part of the 13th annual Franchise Times Dealmakers project. Check out more winners as we recognize the top players driving M&A in franchising. Andy Gundlach references Rainier Partners a lot when he talks about his portfolio of Anytime Fitness gyms and his group’s success with the brand. It’s not surprising, considering the impact of the Seattle-based private equity firm after it acquired Gundlach’s Omega Fitness in October 2023 in a leveraged buyout.
-
3 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
This story is part of the 13th annual Franchise Times Dealmakers project. Check out more winners as we recognize the top players driving M&A in franchising. Image Studios founder and CEO Jason Olsen said it was never an issue finding well-capitalized, qualified franchisees to grow the business and fill salon suites. The tricky part, he said, was finding prime real estate for new locations, securing the financing for them and then getting studios open in a timely fashion.
-
3 weeks ago | 
franchisetimes.com | Joe Halpern
This story is part of the 13th annual Franchise Times Dealmakers project. Check out more winners as we recognize the top players driving M&A in franchising. Doug Augustine compared selling his portfolio of 10 high-volume Wendy’s restaurants in southern Georgia to finally reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain. “It was like those people who climb Mount Everest. You got a short window of time to get to the top and get back down before the weather comes in.
