SPB Hospitality is getting out of Old Chicago.
SPB, the owner of Krystal, Logan’s Roadhouse and six other restaurant brands, has sold the 60-unit pizza pub chain after about five years of ownership, CEO Josh Kern confirmed Friday. The buyer and sale price were not disclosed.
In an email sent to staff and shared with Restaurant Business, Kern wrote that the sale is part of the company’s efforts to focus more on its core brands.
Those include the quick-service burger chain Krystal, full-service chains Logan’s, J. Alexander’s and Stoney River, and a pair of Jose Garces concepts, Amada and Village Whiskey, which it acquired last year.
“These brands represent the future of SPB: distinctive, experience-driven, and built for growth,” Kern wrote.
Houston-based SPB acquired Old Chicago in 2020, when it bought the brewery group CraftWorks Holdings for $93 million. In December, SPB sold five brewery concepts from that deal to Kelly Companies of Southern California, the owner of Champps. It is now offloading the full-service pizza chain, leaving Logan's as the only remaining piece from the CraftWorks deal.
Old Chicago has been struggling for years. From 2019 to 2024, it closed 50 locations, according to Technomic data. Systemwide sales declined more than 16% last year, to $155.4 million. Its problems have coincided with a challenging market for full-service restaurants, especially those that specialize in pizza or beer.
Kern wrote that Old Chicago’s new ownership group plans to invest in growing the brand. “We believe Old Chicago is well-positioned to thrive in this next chapter,” he wrote.
It leaves SPB with eight concepts totaling more than 450 locations.
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