BUSINESS NEWS
Huddle House plans to purchase Perkins chain
Jennifer Chandler
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Published 9:36 PM EDT Sep 12, 2019
Weeks after filing for bankruptcy protection and closing locations, Memphis, Tennessee-based Perkins Restaurant & Bakery may soon have a new owner.
Atlanta-based Huddle House, Inc. announced it plans to buy Perkins in a deal expected to close Oct. 21. Neither company disclosed terms of the deal.
Perkins & Marie Callender’s LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Aug. 5 and said at the time it planned to sell its Perkins’ business and a segment of its Foxtail bakery business, which supplies its restaurants and distributors to “Perkins Group LLC.”
According to a Huddle House spokesperson, the Huddle House deal does not include Marie Callender’s restaurants or the Foxtail bakery.
There are no plans to convert any existing units to Huddle House restaurants or vice versa, the company said in a news release.
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The Huddle House executive leadership team will manage Perkins out of its Atlanta headquarters, running each of the concepts as separate brands, yet leveraging resources and proven strategies to build efficiencies.
“The current leadership team at Perkins has done a tremendous job revitalizing the Perkins concept over the past year, and we believe that we can further utilize Huddle House’s existing platforms and financial backing to strengthen the growth of the Perkins brand,” said Huddle House’s CEO Michael Abt, who will be the top executive of both brands.
Founded 54 years ago, Huddle House has more than 400 locations open or in development.
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Perkins was founded in 1958 and has approximately 342 Perkins Restaurants in 32 states and Canada, of which approximately 100 are company-owned.
Combining Huddle House and Perkins results in more than 700 locations open or under development between the two brands that generate collectively more than $800 million in sales.
A representative at Perkins confirmed the pending sale but declined to comment.
Follow Jennifer Chandler on Twitter: @cookwjennifer.
