Bob Evans Restaurants has a new owner.
The 400-unit family-dining chain was acquired by private-equity firm 4x4 Capital from Golden Gate Capital, which has owned Bob Evans since 2017. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
4x4 said it plans to grow the New Albany, Ohio-based chain, known for its “farm-fresh” comfort food and low prices. Bob Evans management including CEO Mickey Mills will stay in place.
In a statement, Mills said the company will invest in its operations, customer experience and brand.
“We are proud of what we accomplished in partnership with Golden Gate Capital and excited to begin this next chapter with 4x4’s hands-on partnership,” she said.
From 2017 to 2024, Bob Evans posted three years of positive systemwide sales (2021-2023), according to Technomic data. It also closed about 75 locations, going from 505 to 430. It generated $761.2 million in sales in 2024, or about $1.8 million per restaurant.
It has largely been shrinking since 2005, when it had 590 locations and $1 billion in annual sales.
Bob Evans is one of the older restaurant brands in the country, having been founded in Ohio in 1948 by its namesake. The original restaurant was supported by Evans’ sausage-making business, which would later become Bob Evans Farms.
In 2017, Golden Gate acquired Bob Evans Restaurants for $565 million. Bob Evans Farms, today a producer of packaged sausage and other products for grocery stores, was sold to Post Holdings the same year.
New York-based 4x4 specializes in middle-market consumer brands. Its current portfolio includes energy bar brands 1440 Foods and FitCrunch, and Yelloh, formerly known as Schwan’s Home Delivery.
In Bob Evans, it gets the seventh-largest brand in family dining, which refers to restaurants that specialize in breakfast and lunch, typically at a lower price point than casual dining.
It has become a category of haves and have-nots. Traditional family-dining players like Denny’s and IHOP have struggled in recent years, while more premium brands like First Watch have excelled.
Last month, the much larger Denny's was sold for $620 million.
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