Private-equity firm CIC Partners L.P. has sold the 27-unit Taco Mac sports bar-wing brand to a group of investors, an Atlanta-based investment group has announced.
Dallas-based CIC Partners first invested in Taco Mac’s parent, Tappan Street Restaurant Group Inc. of Atlanta, in July 2012 when it had 28 units. Taco Mac restaurants are in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The new investors are led by Harold Martin Jr. of Atlanta as managing partner and include three of his associates in Nashville, Tenn.-based Fresh Hospitality LLC: Michael Bodnar, John Michael Bodnar and Mike Tidwill. Fresh Hospitality owns and operates restaurants as well as provides a broad range of consulting services.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “They are not providing information on purchasing entity or terms,” a spokesperson said.
Taco Mac, founded in 1979, is a casual-dining brand known for its Buffalo chicken wings and selection of draft craft beers in a sports-viewing atmosphere.
Martin said in a statement that “we are long-term owners who understand and enjoy the unique legacy of Taco Mac as an enduring restaurant that offers quality food, family fun, sports viewing and craft beer education.”
Martin and the other new owners said they plan to spend the next few months on a “listening tour” to gain feedback from loyal customers and employees.
“The team also plans to continue investing in the popular Brewniversity program, which rewards loyal guests as their beer knowledge expands,” the company said.
Arlington Capital Advisors LLC, which consulted on the original 2012 CIC deal, acted as the financial advisor to Taco Mac on the transaction.
CIC Partners, a middle-market private-equity firm, last August invested in the Dallas-based East Hampton Sandwich Co. in August 2017. CIC’s other foodservice investments include Granite City Food & Brewery, Willie’s Grill & Icehouse and the cookie delivery company Tiff’s Treats.
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