Atlanta-based investment fund looks to expand fast-casual brand
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NRD Capital Management has bought a 70 percent stake in the 90-unit Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, the companies announced Friday.
Atlanta-based NRD Capital said the investment was intended to accelerate growth of the Fort Worth, Texas-based taco concept. Addition terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Last May, NRD Capital, through its NRD Partners I LP private-equity fund, bought Cincinnati-based Frisch’s Restaurants Inc., a 121-unit Big Boy restaurant franchisor in Midwest, in a $175 million deal.
Aziz Hashim, managing partner at NRD Capital and president-CEO of National Restaurant Development (NRD) Inc. Photo: Ron Ruggless
“We are finding brands with compelling unit economics and partnering with their existing management teams to maximize the impact that the brand can have through franchising,” said Aziz Hashim, NRD Capital founder and managing partner, in a statement. “Our approach to private equity is unlike anything in the space, and it’s proving to be extremely fruitful.”
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, founded in 2001, owns seven of its locations and franchises 83 of the restaurants. It operates in 11 states. The units serve Baja-style tacos with a counter-order service style.
Chuck Bush, founder and CEO of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Photo: Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
“We have seen great success with our brand, primarily growing throughout the Southern and Midwestern U.S.,” said Chuck Bush, president of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. “We knew that to grow our business dramatically, we needed a partner who knows franchising, has access to qualified developers and is willing to partner with our existing team to enhance the brand and maximize growth.”
NRD Capital Management was founded in 2014 with the focus on supporting and growing small to medium-sized franchisor companies.
“The unit economics and growth potential of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop makes it the perfect fit for us,” said Harrison Price, an NRD partner. “We have the tools to make Fuzzy’s a powerhouse in the fast-casual segment by working with management to enrich this fun, exciting brand and by focusing on bringing additional operators in to accelerate new development.”
The first Fuzzy’s Taco Shop opened in 2001 near the Texas Christian University campus in Fort Worth. Chuck Bush and his father, Alan Bush, bought Fuzzy’s in 2003.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
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