Elephant Bar, Baker Bros. American Deli and Ruby Tequila’s Mexican Kitchen have new owners
.svg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale "Nation's Restaurant News")
The Chalak Mitra Group of Companies, which includes the Genghis Grill chain, announced on Monday the sale of three of its non-core brands — Elephant Bar Restaurant, Baker Bros. American Deli and Ruby Tequila’s Mexican Kitchen.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The most recent completed sale was for the 10-unit Elephant Bar, which was sold via stock purchase agreement on May 19 to an affiliate of SBR LLC, described as an investment company based in Connecticut.
Chalak Mitra Group acquired the then-29-unit Elephant Bar out of bankruptcy in 2014. It was operated at the time by S.B. Restaurant Co. Greenwich, Conn.-based KarpReilly was a former investor in the chain. Officials with Chalak Mitra Group said SBR LLC is not affiliated with KarpReilly, but they declined to give further information on the buyer.
The transition will occur over the next several weeks and will not impact day-to-day operation of the restaurants, Chalak Mitra Group said, but the company did not respond to further requests for details.
The sale of four-unit Ruby Tequila’s is expected to be completed this month, Chalak Mitra Group said. It was sold to an affiliate of Fired Up Holding Company Inc., based in Lubbock, Texas. Fired Up Holdings operates a concept called Twisted Spigot. Chalak Mitra Group officials said it is not the same group that owns the Johnny Carino's Italian Kitchen chain, which is called Fired Up Inc., based in Austin, Texas.
Baker Bros., a fast-casual deli chain, sold in February to multiconcept franchise operator FGR Food Corp., based in Dallas, Chalak Mitra Group said. FGR Food Corp. operates the fast-casual Uno Due Go brand.
Al Bhakta, Chalak Mitra Group’s managing director, said in a statement the sale will help shape the group’s high-level strategic direction.
“We were proud to be affiliated with these brands throughout our ownership and wish the new ownership groups the best of luck,” he said. “As a result of these transactions, we will allocate our resources to expand and strengthen our other businesses.”
According to Chalak Mitra Group’s website, the company owned and operated 260 restaurants prior to the sale of these non-core brand, including the Genghis Grill chain.
Update: May 22, 2017 This story has been updated with new information from Chalak Mitra Group.
Correction: May 23, 2017 An earlier version of this story misstated the number of Elephant Bar and Ruby Tequila's Mexican Kitchen units. In addition, the Chalak Mitra Group of Companies includes Genghis Grill.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout
