Despite the deep financial impacts of COVID-19 on the U.S. restaurant industry, large chains such as Red Lobster continue to stay in business.
Acquisitions and mergers in the restaurant industry continue as well. On 28 July, Portland, Oregon-based investment firm Sortis Holdings acquired Sustainable Restaurant Group, owner of Bamboo Sushi, out of bankruptcy.
Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed, Sortis said in a press release. Following the transaction, Sortis will operate nine Bamboo Sushi locations across Portland; Seattle, Washington; the San Francisco Bay, California area; and Denver, Colorado. It anticipates future growth of the sustainable sushi chain.
“SRG was built on a thoughtful approach to dining, food sourcing, and growth,” Sortis Founder and Executive Chairman Paul Brenneke said. “It had poor timing for its rapid growth, opening four restaurants in the months prior to the pandemic’s once-in-a-lifetime impact, but it’s the kind of company that we believe will survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world.”
Sortis will retain members of SRG’s existing management team, and will add members from its own hospitality team.
“We are thrilled to bring our team’s experience, ideas, and energy to the Bamboo Sushi brand,” Brenneke said.
Once SRG is fully operational again, Sortis intends to reopen its restaurants in “accordance with all state and municipal guidelines,” the company said.
In the interim, SRG continues to offer pick-up and delivery at its Northwest, Northeast, and Lake Oswego Bamboo Sushi locations in the Portland area.
Meanwhile, Red Lobster is hanging on despite running into trouble paying the rent at some of its locations, along with other operational issues.
Landlords of Red Lobster restaurants in several states are reporting that the Orlando, Florida-based chain owes them several months’ worth of rent.
One of the chain’s restaurants in Wichita, Kansas was closed for a month due to unpaid rent, but has since re-opened, KETK reported.
Several landlords have reportedly sued Red Lobster, including one lawsuit alleging that Red Lobster owes USD 125,000 (EUR 110,000) in back rent, while another landlord said she is owed USD 80,000 (EUR 70,000), KETK reported.
Red Lobster is “still trying to get their arms around” the carry-out and delivery business, “which they have never had in the history of the restaurant chain,” David Becker, the chairman, president, and CEO of First Internet Bancorp, one of Red Lobster’s lenders, said on a call with analysts.
However, Red Lobster still has USD 200 million (EUR 169 million) cash on hand and contributed to Thai Union’s profits in the first quarter of 2020, despite the majority of its dining rooms having to close during the quarter, Thai Union said in an earnings presentation. Thai Union acquired a 25 percent stake in Red Lobster for USD 525 million (EUR 516.3 million) in 2016.
The chain has had three times the growth in its off-premise business compared to the first quarter of 2019, Thai Union said.
Photo courtesy of Bamboo Sushi
