CHARLOTTE N.C. Jerry Richardson, majority owner of Bojangles Holdings, parent of the 426-unit fast-food chicken chain, and owner of the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers, is continuing to recover after undergoing heart transplant surgery in February, an official familiar with the situation said Wednesday.
Aspokesman for the Panthers said that Richardson planned to return to work with the NFL team, although there was no time frame for his return. Published reports indicated it would take Richardson up to six months to make a full recovery from the transplant surgery.
“He is recovering well at home, and there really is no timetable for his return,” said spokesman Steven Drummond.
Calls to Bojangles to inquire about Richardson’s return there were not returned by press time.
Richardson has a history of heart trouble and underwent a quadruple bypass in 2002, according to reports. He was placed on a heart transplant waiting list in December 2008.
ABojangles franchisee for 27 years, Richardson joined with the private-equity group Falfurrias Capital Partners in acquiring a 60-percent share in the Charlotte-based chicken chain in 2007.
Bojangles’ annual sales for the year ending December 2007 were approximately $561.7 million, according to data collected by Nation’s Restaurant News for its Top 100 survey.
Aformer professional football player, Richardson moved into the restaurant industry when he left the playing field and invested in a Hardee’s franchise. He is the former chairman and chief executive of Spartanburg, S.C.-based Flagstar Cos., parent at the time of Denny's and Quincy's Steakhouses, and then one of Hardee's largest franchisees.
Contact Elisa Elan at [email protected].
