First Watch, a 423-unit breakfast and lunch chain, plans to raise $100 million in an upcoming initial public offering. Though First Watch has more than 80 existing franchisees in the system that are opening new restaurants, the company is no longer actively offering opportunities for new or potential franchisees. First Watch is still determining its IPO terms, but plans to use funds to pay off its $294 million in total debt. First Watch is owned by private equity firm Advent International.
Miami-based burger and kebab concept, Pincho, has attracted $20 million in growth capital from the Savory Fund, a $200 million food and beverage practice managed by Andrew Smith and Greg Warnock of Mercato Partners. Pincho will be the sixth brand backed by the fund, which was created in 2018 to invest in promising emerging restaurant concepts. Pincho, founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Otto Othman as “Pincho Factory,” operates eight locations across South Florida with two licensed locations. The money will be used to grow Pincho across other states such as Texas, in addition to the remainder of Florida. Othman will remain as CEO, and Savory Fund executives Shauna Smith, Alonso Casteneda and Taylor DeHart will join Pincho’s Board of Directors.
Savory Fund has a handful of brands and a systematized approach to acquiring food brands, boosting performance and helping them grow. Smith, the fund’s managing director, began on the franchise side and essentially created that model in the fast-casual Kneader’s brand before acquiring a few Utah-based brands. On top of Pincho, the fund also has stakes in Via313 Pizzeria, chicken purveyor The Crack Shack, Hawaiian teriyaki brand Mo’Bettahs, R&R BBQ and the dessert and soda fountain Swig.
Brinker International, the parent company of Chili’s Grill & Bar, acquired 23 restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic region from Chesapeake Foods, which has been a franchisee of the chain for 37 years. This follows Brinker’s acquisition in 2019 of 116 units from franchisee ERJ Dining, run by former NBA player Junior Bridgeman. Dallas-based Brinker is also the franchisor for Maggiano’s Little Italy, which has 54 total restaurants.
Pizza Hut franchisee ADT Pizza, led by Adam Diamond, bought 25 more restaurants from Nicole Householder in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. Householder, after many years as both a corporate employee and then as a multi-state franchisee, decided it was time to fully exit the Pizza Hut system and sell her hometown restaurants, she said in a statement. Householder was advised by Unbridled Capital.
Lynx Franchising acquired The Contents Specialists with plans to merge the restoration company with the FRSTeam brand and franchise system. Lynx CEO Russ Reynolds said his company will begin working with the management team already in place at The Contents Specialists to incorporate The Contents Specialists’ focus on hard contents services to expand FRSTeam’s offerings. FRSTeam is a fabric, textile, and electronics restoration brand founded in 1988 that has more than 40 franchise territories in addition to 10 company-owned locations.
