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Lisa Jennings
BEAVERTON Ore. The Shari’s restaurant chain, based here, has acquired four locations of the bankrupt Bakers Square brand in the San Francisco Bay area, expanding its presence in California, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Shari’s Management Corp., parent to the 24-hour, family-dining Shari’s brand, plans to convert the Bakers Square restaurants to Shari’s within the next few weeks. The restaurants are in the California towns of Livermore, Castro Valley, San Bruno and Rohnert Park.
The four new Shari’s locations will add to the chain’s presence in California, where two locations currently operate, in Sacramento and Red Bluff. Shari’s is primarily concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, but Shari’s officials said the chain would continue to expand in Northern California.
The addition of the four locations brings Shari’s unit count to 105 restaurants in six states.
“This is an exciting growth step for Shari’s, further extending our reach beyond our core restaurants in the Pacific Northwest,” said Bruce MacDiarmid, Shari’s chief executive. “Shari’s focus on quality food, and warm welcomes, resonates universally with guests in our segment. Tough economic times create opportunities for strong, well-positioned brands like Shari’s.”
The Bakers Square brand is owned by Denver-based Vicorp Restaurants Inc., which also operates the Village Inn chain. Vicorp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last April. In February, Vicorp officials told Nation’s Restaurant News that the company had about 300 restaurants, and that a court-approved buyer had been identified and an auction was expected this month.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
