FAT Brands Buys Smokey Bones, Improves Top 400 Rankings | Franchise Mergers and Acquisitions

Twin Peaks’ parent company FAT Brands bought 61-unit Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill for $30 million.

FAT bought the barbecue chain from Sun Capital Partners, a private equity firm. The acquisition adds to FAT’s portfolio of 17 brands—such as Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s and Great American Cookies—and about 2,300 units worldwide. All but three of the company’s brands that landed on the Franchise Times Top 400 list, which ranks the top brands in franchising by systemwide sales, this year saw rankings improve.

“Who doesn’t love barbecue?” FAT Brands Founder and Chairman Andy Wiederhorn said. “We’ve wanted a barbecue brand in our portfolio for some time. … We think there’s an opportunity to franchise Smokey Bones across our system.”

Smokey Bones’ locations are all corporate owned today.

FAT Brands is keeping the brand’s leadership team. “We plan to grow that brand, so we need the bodies,” Wiederhorn said.

At one point, Smokey Bones had more than 100 units open, Wiederhorn said. “We’d certainly like to see it grow back to that type of scale over time,” he said.

Top 400

The casual dining category in 2022 increased sales by 7 percent to $11.4 billion. On the Top 400 list, Johnny Rockets was the top grower in the category at 14 percent. Johnny Rockets hit No. 214 with $267 million, up 31 spots from 2021. FAT Brands made efforts to streamline its menus and reconfigured its digital advertising.

“We reconfigured how we’re advertising, with a heavy emphasis on digital and attributable ads. Instead of just what they say in the industry is spraying and praying, we can now really track with certainty where our return on ad spend is,” said FAT Brands Chief Operating Officer Thayer Wiederhorn.

Despite being the category’s top grower in sales, Johnny Rockets closed 28 restaurants, or 9.5 percent of its unit count, in 2022. The brand differentiates itself from FAT’s other casual dining franchises because, Thayer Wiederhorn said, “it’s a casual dining burger experience.” The company is looking to open more fast-casual Johnny Rockets units, compared to the brand’s current sit-down dining stores in high-traffic areas, like theme parks and cruise ships.

Sports bar franchise Twin Peaks’ climbed from No. 192 to No. 158, with 2022 sales surpassing $481 million, a 24.2 percent increase over 2021, across 93 units. Medieval-themed, sit-down pizza brand Round Table Pizza ranked No. 171 with $412 million in sales in 2022 with its 410 restaurants.

Fazoli’s climbed 13 spots to No. 201 with nearly $291 million while Fatburger hit No. 284 with $146 million in sales in 2022. Great American Cookies climbed 12 spots to No. 287 with sales just under $145 million and Marble Slab Creamery ranked No. 317 with $110 million in systemwide sales. Prezelmaker, No. 380, had sales hit nearly $69 million across 219 units.

One of the brands that saw a dip in its ranking is Hurricane Grill & Wings, which dropped 3 spots to No. 366 after sales decreased by 9.1 percent in 2022 to $77 million. Another is Native Grill & Wings, which fell 12 spots to No. 410 after sales fell 5.8 percent last year. Elevation Burger, No. 478, fell one spot, despite sales increasing by 2.9 percent.