Private-equity firm Goode Partners has acquired Wings N’ More Restaurants LLC with plans to grow the concept in Texas, the company announced Monday.
Goode made a controlling equity investment in the seven-unit chain, known for its Buffalo-style wings, with founder Mark Dennard and licensee David Brimhall retaining a minority stake in the consolidated company, said David Oddi, a partner in Goode.
The investment was combined with debt financing from Gladstone Capital Corporation. Details were not disclosed.
Oddi compared Wings N’ More to Chuy’s, another Texas-based brand that the private-equity firm acquired in 2006, when Chuy’s had only eight restaurants. That brand grew to 75 units by the time Goode Partners exited in 2013, after Chuy’s went public, which brought the private equity firm an 8.6x return on its investment, Oddi said.
Chuy’s was taken private again earlier this year after being acquired by Darden Restaurants.
Wings N’ More was founded in 1986 by Dennard, a former NFL player who spent seven years with the Miami Dolphins and two years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
At the time, Buffalo-style wings were not easily found in Texas, Dennard discovered, so he opened the first Wings N’ More in Houston after he retired from football. The brand now also operates in College Station/Bryan, and Corpus Christi.
Oddi noted that Wings N’ More has both a full-service and quick-service format, and the plan is to use a hub-and-spoke model to grow into new markets, initially focusing on Texas.
“Mark and the company’s management team have done an outstanding job offering their customers incredible food at a great value. Most of the company’s leaders have grown up with the brand, building a culture that is passionate about exceeding customer expectations,” said Oddi, in a statement. “We look forward to working with this outstanding team and providing the added resources to help take the company to the next level in its growth strategy.”
Dennard added that he is tremendously excited about the partnership.
“We look forward to opening new restaurants and providing growth opportunities for our team members,” he said in a statement.
Based in New York, Goode Partners has also invested in a number of other restaurant brands, including Stonefire Grill, Silver Diner, and Rosa Mexicano.
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