In June, Famous Dave’s BBQ parent company BBQ Holdings announced its intention to acquire VIBSQ Holdco LLC, the parent of Village Inn and Bakers Square, for around $13.5 million, with the deal expected to go through by the end of July. With this deal, one year after the acquisitions of Granite City and Real Urban BBQ in 2020, BBQ Holdings will nearly double in size.
According to CEO Jeff Crivello, he has been a fan of Bakers Square and their famous pies for years, and saw the opportunity with Village Inn, which has a similar corporate/franchise structure and number of units as Famous Dave’s.
“A larger company is good for everyone,” Crivello said. “If we can simplify [franchisees’] business, they can come to us and have access to multiple brands with one leadership team. That’s the goal: to build a well-diversified portfolio of food and beverage plans that have withstood the test of time.”
And they’re not finished yet, though Crivello says their growth strategy is still conservative and patient.
“It will take us some time to digest this acquisition, but once we feel comfortable with it we always have a strong pipeline of opportunities that I’m looking at and monitoring,” he said. “When the time is right, we’ll continue to grow.”
