EDMOND Okla. The new owners of casual-dining company Eateries Inc., parent of the Garfield's, Garcia's and Pepperoni Grill chains, have received $6.5 million in financing from Praesidian Capital Investors to support the acquisition, the companies disclosed Monday. The buyers include private-equity firms Cordova, Smart & Williams LLC and Waterview Capital, along with a management group led by casual-dining veteran Richard Cervera. Cervera is serving as chief executive of Eateries, which operates or franchises 70 dinnerhouses. It is based here.
Cervera previously served as chief executive of the Taco Cabana chain and as president and co-CEO at House of Blues.
Terms of the acquisition, first revealed in December, were not disclosed. New York-based Cordova, Smart & Williams typically invests between $10 million and $20 million into middle-market, U.S.-based companies.