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FOCUS Brands to Acquire Moes Southwest Grill
Center-of-the-plate concept to join sister companies
Carvel Ice Cream, Cinnabon, Schlotzskys, and
Seattles Best Coffee International
Atlanta (April 11, 2007)
FOCUS Brands, an Atlanta-based franchisor, announced today that through a
subsidiary, it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Moes Southwest
Grill, a fast-casual restaurant chain offering fresh Southwest favorites,
including burritos, quesadillas, and fajitas, in a quirky, fun atmosphere
from certain affiliates of Raving Brands. Headquartered in Atlanta, Moes
has 345 locations in 36 states generating nearly $300 million of annual
system-wide revenues.
FOCUS Brands is the franchisor and operator of over
1,750 ice cream stores, bakeries, sandwich shops, and cafes in the United
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 33 foreign countries under
the brand names
Carvel,
Cinnabon,
Schlotzskys, and the franchisor of
Seattles Best Coffee on military bases and in certain international markets.
Including Moes, FOCUS Brands will have five franchise brands generating over
$1 billion in annual system-wide revenues through over 10,000 points of
distribution in 50 states and 33 countries.
Steve Romaniello, president
and CEO of FOCUS Brands, comments, With its friendly 'Welcome to Moes!'
greeting and its high quality, freshly made products, Moes Southwest Grill
is a welcome addition to our growing portfolio of brands.
Raving Brands
President Stephen M. LaMastra adds, The Moes brand, our franchisees, and
our associates will all benefit greatly from the resources and expertise
of Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands. I am looking forward to a long and productive
partnership where the best from each organization is identified and shared
to everyone's benefit.
Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The transaction is expected to close during the summer.
About FOCUS Brands
FOCUS Brands Inc. is the franchisor and operator of over 1,750 ice cream
stores, bakeries, sandwich shops, and cafes in the United States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 33 foreign countries under the
brand names Carvel,
Cinnabon,
Schlotzskys, and the franchisor of
Seattles Best Coffee on military bases and in certain international
markets. Based in Atlanta, the primary objective of FOCUS Brands is to
FOCUS on making people happy. Please visit www.focusbrands.com to learn more.
About Moes Southwest Grill
Moes is the neighborhood burrito place offering
fun, fresh Southwest flavors with a healthy twist. The Atlanta-based company
was founded in December 2000 and currently has 345 franchise units operating
in 36 states. Moes ranks number 2 in Technomic's 2006 Top 500 Fastest Growing
Chains and number 11 in Inc. Magazine's 2005 Top 500 ranking of the
fastest-growing private companies. Moes is part of Atlanta-based Raving
Brands, a multi-brand restaurant franchise company. For more information,
visit http://www.Moes.com.
About Raving Brands
Founded in 2000, Raving
Brands is a multi-concept franchise portfolio company with nine concepts
including Moes Southwest Grill, Shane's Rib Shack and Planet Smoothie.
Raving Brands ranked #1 in Fast Casual magazine's 2005 "Top 100 Movers
and Shakers," with its flagship concept Moe's Southwest Grill, ranking #6.
Moe's is also a 2005 Inc. magazine Top 25 Company and was a Nation's
Restaurant News' 2004 Hot Concepts! award winner. For additional information
on the company, visit www.ravingbrands.com.
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