PRIVATE EQUITY SNAPS UP ANOTHER MAJOR RESTAURANT CHAIN
THE BOTTOM LINE: BLACKSTONE IS BUYING JERSEY MIKE’S. EARLY
REACTION TO THE DEAL SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE REPUTATION OF PRIVATE-EQUITY FIRMS RIGHT NOW.
BYJONATHAN MAZE
L ast week, Alex Sloane, the cofounder of the private-equity firm Garnett Station Partners, acknowledged the risk when an investment firm buys a restaurant chain and then tries to do too much with it. “All companies are one or two private-equity decisions from becoming Ruby Tuesday,” he said. To be sure, we’ve seen plenty of examples of strategic deals gone bad, too, for largely the same reason. But the quote came to mind almost immediately when news broke this morning that Blackstone, a giant private-equity firm, was buying a majority stake in Jersey Mike’s, one of the best-performing restaurant chains in the nation and one
with a rightful claim as “the next Chipotle.” And I wasn’t the only one who thought of it.
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JANUARY 2025 RESTAURANT BUSINESS
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
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