Blum fights to lead turnaround effort at struggling CosìBlum fights to lead turnaround effort at struggling Così

Steve Coomes

Since the Blum Growth Fund took a 3.5-million-share bite of Così in April, founder Brad Blum’s investment in the sandwich chain has turned stale. The share price was about $1.30 when he purchased the stock, but by November it had plummeted to half of that.


While Blum said he is frustrated by the losses, he hasn’t given up on the chain. He believes Così’s core concept is solid, although lacking management direction. Blum is so convinced the troubled brand has a future, in fact, the former top executive of such brands as Olive Garden, Burger King and Romano’s Macaroni Grill has volunteered to serve as chief executive for an annual salary of $1.


“Well, it would be $1 for the first year,” Blum said. 


Così’s board so far has rejec...