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Brentwood Associates buys a stake in breakfast-focused chain SnoozeBrentwood Associates buys a stake in breakfast-focused chain Snooze

LA-based private equity firm joins Stripes and Alliance Consumer Growth as investors

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

December 17, 2020

2 Min Read
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Private-equity firm Brentwood Associates has purchased a minority stake in Snooze, a casual-dining breakfast chain based in Denver with 44 restaurants in Arizona, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Missouri and Texas.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the chain has added Brentwood partner Rahul Aggarwal to its board of directors.

Private equity firms Stripes and Alliance Consumer Growth are already investors in the chain.

Snooze is known for its friendly, upbeat vibe, culinary creativity and cocktail program, among other innovations in the breakfast segment. It has grown from 17 units in the past four years.

“We're very excited to support Snooze's next phase of growth," Aggarwal said in a press release announcing the deal. "They have built a unique and compelling restaurant concept serving the attractive breakfast segment, and we are equally impressed with the Company's strong culture. We look forward to leveraging our experience to bring Snooze's unique offering of craveable food and beverages in an energetic atmosphere to more guests across the country."

According to its web site, Brentwood, based in Los Angeles, is also an investor in Blaze Pizza, Chicken Salad Chick, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Pacific Catch and Veggie Grill.

Related:Snooze gets a big-name investment

Snooze CEO David Birzon said he was glad to have Brentwood as a shareholder.

“We're thrilled to welcome Brentwood to the Snooze family and are thankful for the continued support from Stripes and ACG," he said. "We are fortunate to have partnered with a group of premier, growth-oriented consumer investors that have provided support and capital to execute our ambitious growth strategy." 

Stripes partner Karen Kenworthy praised Birzon’s leadership.

“David and the Snooze management team have done a tremendous job building this innovative brand," she said. “Brentwood's investment further underscores the strength of the Snooze concept and its differentiated offering. With Brentwood, we have found a partner who shares our vision in Snooze's future and supports its continued expansion."

Brentwood has invested more than $6 billion in more than 50 companies in sectors including branded consumer products & services, health & wellness, beauty, personal care, food & beverage, multi-unit restaurants, specialty retail, e-commerce and education.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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