Sponsored By

Cheesecake Factory completes Fox acquisitionsCheesecake Factory completes Fox acquisitions

North Italia operations will move to California headquarters

Ron Ruggless, Senior Editor

October 3, 2019

1 Min Read
Nation's Restaurant News logo in a gray background | Nation's Restaurant News

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. said Wednesday it has closed on its acquisitions of Fox Restaurant Concepts and plans to move the operations of the North Italia casual-dining brand to its California headquarters.

The Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based Cheesecake Factory, which three years ago invested $88 million in Fox Restaurant’s casual-dining North Italia and fast-casual Flower Child, said the $353 million acquisition, announced in July, included $308 million at closing, with $12 million earmarked for customary post-closing adjustments, and an additional $45 million due over the next four years.

“The FRC transaction also includes an earn-out provision based on the financial performance of the FRC brands outside of North Italia and Flower Child,” the company said.

Phoenix-based FRC operates 47 restaurants across eight states and the District of Columbia, including such brands as The Arrogant Butcher, Blanco, Culinary Dropout, Dough Bird, The Greene House, The Henry, Olive & Ivy and Zinburger.

Cheesecake said Fox Restaurant Concepts will operate as an independent subsidiary and continue to be led by founder Sam Fox from FRC’s headquarters in Phoenix.

The Cheesecake Factory said it will move operations for North Italia, which has 21 locations in 10 states and Washington, D.C., to its Calabasas Hills headquarters “to help scale the concept nationally.”

Related:Cheesecake Factory's fast-casual spinoff set to open

With the Fox Restaurants acquisition, The Cheesecake Factory now owns 288 restaurants in the United States and Canada under brands that include Cheesecake Factory, Grand Lux Café, RockSugar Southeast Asian Kitchen and the fast-casual Social Monk Asian Kitchen, which opened earlier this year in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The company also has 23 Cheesecake Factory restaurants internationally that operate under licensing agreements and a bakery division with two locations.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

Read more about:

The Cheesecake Factory

About the Author

Ron Ruggless

Senior Editor, Nation’s Restaurant News / Restaurant Hospitality

Ron Ruggless serves as a senior editor for Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN.com) and Restaurant Hospitality (Restaurant-Hospitality.com) online and print platforms. He joined NRN in 1992 after working 10 years in various roles at the Dallas Times Herald newspaper, including restaurant critic, assistant business editor, food editor and lifestyle editor. He also edited several printings of the Zagat Dining Guide for Dallas-Fort Worth, and his articles and photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Food Network and Self magazines. 

Ron Ruggless’ areas of expertise include foodservice mergers, acquisitions, operations, supply chain, research and development and marketing. 

Ron Ruggless is a frequent moderator and panelist at industry events ranging from the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference to RestaurantSpaces, the Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers, the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing Executives Group, local restaurant associations and the Horeca Professional Expo in Madrid, Spain.

Ron Ruggless’ experience:

Regional and Senior Editor, Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality (1992 to present)

Features Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1989-1991)

Restaurant Critic and Food Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1987-1988)

Editing Roles – Dallas Times Herald (1982-1987)

Editing Roles – Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (1980-1982)

Editing Roles – Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald (1978-1980)

Email: [email protected]

Social media:

Twitter@RonRuggless

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ronruggless

Instagram: @RonRuggless

TikTok: @RonRuggless

 

Subscribe Nation's Restaurant News Newsletters
Get the latest breaking news in the industry, analysis, research, recipes, consumer trends, the latest products and more.

You May Also Like