Black Rock Coffee Bar has confidentially filed to go public with a potential value of more than $1 billion, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The Arizona-based chain would become the first restaurant chain to IPO since 2023, when Cava and then Gen Korean BBQ went public. The company has apparently hired JPMorgan Chas, Jefferies Financial and Morgan Stanley, according to Reuters.
A representative for Black Rock would not comment on the report.
By filing confidentially, Black Rock can get a sense of whether there is a receptive enough market for its shares without undergoing the intense public scrutiny of a traditional IPO launch. The company can then decide not to go public, and plenty of companies over the years have confidentially filed such documents without actually launching an offering.
Black Rock would give the public markets another coffee chain in which to invest, to go along with Starbucks, Dutch Bros and Tim Hortons, through Restaurant Brands International. It would also give the public markets one of the more interesting restaurant chain names.
Black Rock was founded in Oregon in 2008. It is an entirely company-run operation and has grown relatively steady over the years, averaging 15.5% system sales growth annually over the past five years, according to Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
The chain generated nearly $165 million in system sales in 2024 and finished the year with 145 locations. That’s a fraction of the size of Dutch Bros in 2021, when that chain went public. Black Rock generates $1.2 million unit volumes.
The concept's menu features premium coffee, smoothie and energy drinks and has been family owned since its founding. The company also offers a coffee subscription program in which consumers can have Black Rock’s coffee beans delivered to their homes.
Black Rock in 2023 named Mark Davis CEO. Davis was the former chief executive with Tokyo Joe’s and was an executive with Panera Bread.
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