The owner of Johnny Rockets is buying yet another brand but is not keeping it.
Fat Brands, the growing brand collector, on Wednesday said it has a deal to acquire Nestle Toll House Café by Chip. The Los Angeles-based Fat Brands plans to convert the chain’s 85 locations into its Great American Cookies concept, which it acquired last year in its deal for the franchisor Global Franchise Group.
The company, which now owns numerous concepts following a run of dealmaking, believes that the acquisition will give it a firmer foothold in the dessert market. In addition to Great American Cookies, Fat Brands operates the Marble Slab Creamery brand.
Fat Brands also said that the acquisition will add to its newly acquired Atlanta manufacturing facility, which will increase efficiency and cost savings.
“These stores will fold seamlessly into our quick-service division and provide us the opportunity to increase the capacity of our manufacturing business, a key growth objective,” Fat Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn said in a statement.
Crest Foods franchises Nestle Toll House Café, which has been in decline in recent years amid weakness in shopping traffic.
System sales last year were $25.7 million, down more than a quarter over the past five years. Unit count has fallen 23%.
The addition of the Nestle locations will increase Great American Cookies’ unit count by a quarter. The chain operates 373 locations, all of them franchised. Great American is located primarily in the Southeast, while Nestle’s locations are generally in the southwest, according to Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
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