2023 has been an interesting year for mergers and acquisitions in the restaurant industry.
March was by far the most active month, with five deals, mostly among emerging restaurant chains including Rio Mambo Texas Mex y Mas, My Pie, Slows Bar BQ, and I Love Juice Bar. That month also saw the acquisition of Firebirds Wood Fired Grill by an investment firm.
This year saw a lot of smaller deals of emerging chains, but among bigger chains to be acquired were Pollo Tropical, Smokey Bones Barbecue, and Fogo de Chão, which put to rest longstanding rumors of an initial public offering for that brand.
The biggest restaurant acquisition story of the year, of course, was Subway: Rumors of a potential sale first started swirling in mid-January, with a deal finally being confirmed in late August. It’s not over yet, though: amid fears of a monopoly, senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) supports an FTC probe of the proposed deal.
Click through the gallery to see 19 restaurant mergers and acquisitions from 2023.