AMERICAN FORK, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Four Foods Group (FFG), a rapidly growing restaurant development, investment, and management company, announced it has acquired 48 Little Caesars Restaurants in Alabama and Louisiana.
Today’s announcement caps a flurry of recent activity for FFG, including the acquisition of the fast-growing R&R Barbecue restaurant concept and its locations in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the acquisition of The Soda Shop – an early participant in the emerging specialty soda category – and its Arizona-based locations. These transactions add to FFG’s significant presence as a franchisee in the Kneaders Bakery & Cafe brand, where the company currently owns 44 Kneaders restaurants. In all, FFG now operates 97 restaurants in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Alabama, and Louisiana, with 2017 annual revenues projected to exceed more than $150 million.
“This is a time of explosive growth for Four Foods Group,” said FFG Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Andrew K. Smith. “I am proud of our team for setting and realizing ambitious and sometimes daunting growth goals. We have now become one of the leading restaurant concept incubators and management growth companies in America, and we are just getting started.”
The Little Caesars opportunity presented to FFG was compelling for many reasons. In addition to an area of the country Smith was familiar with – FFG Co-Founder Shauna Smith is an Alabama native – the Little Caesars brand provided needed balance to the FFG brand management strategy. The pizza giant’s brand positioning of price, convenience, and speed, coupled with a top-known category brand, fits well in the long-term FFG portfolio strategy.
“We have a deep love for the South and the hospitality, respect, and work ethic that comes with Southern culture,” said Co-Founder Shauna K. Smith. “In this case, we have a terrific brand we believe is positioned for a lot of growth in these rural areas of Alabama and Louisiana. Four Foods Group will provide the capital and management structure needed to maximize growth in these areas.”
In addition to its American Fork, Utah-based corporate headquarters, FFG has now opened a second corporate office in Birmingham, Alabama that will initially house 28 FFG corporate employees. More than 800 additional employees will serve in the Little Caesars locations in Alabama and Louisiana, bringing FFG’s total employee base to more than 3,000 employees across seven states.
W Partners Group LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Four Foods Group in the transaction. Carman Lehnhof Israelsen, LLP acted as legal counsel. Financing for the transaction was provided by CIT Bank N.A. and funds from FFG’s investors and partners.
More information about Four Foods Group can be found at fourfoodsgroup.com.
About Four Foods Group
Four Foods Group (FFG) is a restaurant development, investment, and management company with 97 restaurant locations and additional sites in development or under construction. FFG has ranked among Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America for five consecutive years, a Mountain West Capital Network (MWCN) 100 recipient for four years running, and as a Utah Valley (UV) 50 company for six years running. The company currently employs more than 3,000 employees, with more than 100 at their corporate offices in American Fork, Utah. Their restaurants rank among the Technomic Top 150 Fast Casual Restaurants. fourfoodsgroup.com
About Little Caesars Pizza
Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, Little Caesars® is the largest carryout-only pizza chain and fastest growing pizza chain in America*. Founded in 1959 as a single, family-owned restaurant, Little Caesars has become the third largest pizza chain in the world** and today has stores in all 50 U.S. states, as well as 20 countries and territories worldwide.
Known for its HOT-N-READY® pizza and famed Crazy Bread®, Little Caesars has been named “Best Value in America”** for nine years in a row. Little Caesars products are made with quality ingredients, like fresh, never frozen, mozzarella and Muenster cheese, dough made fresh daily in the stores and sauce made from fresh-packed, vine-ripened California crushed tomatoes.
An exceptionally high growth company with more than 57 years of experience in the nearly $135 billion worldwide pizza industry, Little Caesars is continually looking for franchisee candidates to join our team in markets around the world. In addition to providing the opportunity for entrepreneurial independence in a franchise system, Little Caesars offers strong brand awareness with one of the most recognized and appealing characters in the country, Little Caesar.
*Fastest growing pizza chain in the US – based on net number of stores
added each year 2008-2015
**Third largest pizza chain in the world
– based on net number of stores in 2015
***Highest-Rated Chain –
Value for the Money” based on a nationwide survey of quick-service
restaurant consumers conducted by Sandelman & Associates 2007-2016
