BBQ Holdings, parent company of Famous Dave’s, is continuing its expansion outside of barbecue with the acquisition of family restaurant chains Village Inn and Bakers Square.
The Minnetonka-based BBQ Holdings, which bought bankrupt Granite City Food & Brewery and Chicago-based Real Urban Barbecue in March 2020 as the pandemic started to take hold of the country, paid $13.5 million for Village Inn and Bakers Square, according to a SEC filing.
“We believe the Village Inn and Bakers Square concepts are a great complement to our growing portfolio of restaurants,” said Jeff Crivello, BBQ Holdings’ chief executive, in a statement. “Adding them to our family of brands will only strengthen our company as a whole. We can’t wait to start working with the wonderful people who have made Village Inn and Bakers Square what they are today, and we’re excited to put these two brands on a new and reinvigorated growth path.”
The sale, which was announced Friday by BBQ Holdings Inc. and VIBSQ, the parent company of Village Inn and Bakers Square, is expected to close by the end of July.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, VIBSQ was one of two companies formed after its parent company American Blue Ribbon Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January of last year.
Village Inn, which has grown from its breakfast roots to include lunches and dinners, currently has 21 company-owned and 114 franchisee-owned restaurants across the country. Bakers Square, which began in Des Moines, Iowa, and is known for its pies, has 13 restaurants with the most located in Illinois.
In the spring, BBQ Holdings announced same-store sales for BBQ Holdings declined more than 15% in 2020. However, sales decreases lessened in January and February of this year with March seeing sales increases of nearly 44% year over year for Famous Dave’s and more than 60% for Granite City.