CHARLOTTE N.C. Carolina Panthers owner and former Hardee's kingpin Jerry Richardson is getting involved again in the management of a restaurant chain through the purchase by an affiliated private-equity firm of a controlling stake in the Bojangles' quick-service chicken concept.
Terms of Falfurrias Capital Partners' investment in Bojangles' Holdings Inc. were not disclosed. The stake, which is said to exceed 60 percent of equity, was apparently acquired from individual investors.
Falfurrias co-founder and managing partner Marc D. Oken, a former chief financial officer of Bank of America, said the group intends to expand the 30-year-old, 386-unit Cajun chicken concept.
The investment group's other co-founder is Hugh L. McColl Jr., a former chairman and chief executive of Bank of America who is serving as chief executive of the fund.
Richardson, a former pro football player who established the Panthers franchise, was formerly chairman and chief executive of Spartanburg, S.C.-based Flagstar Cos., parent at the time of Denny's and Quincy's Steakhouses and then one of Hardee's largest franchisees. He owns one of Bojangles’ largest franchise groups. It was not clear what role he serves at Falfurrias other than as an investor, but the firm said Richardson would be involved in the management of Bojangles'.
Richardson entered the restaurant industry with $3,500 he earned from the Baltimore Colts' pro-football championship win over the New York Giants in 1959. Richardson, a rookie receiver who caught the Johnny Unitas pass that won the game, used the bonus money to buy the second franchise granted by a then-fledgling burger chain called Hardee's. Along with longtime business partner Charlie Bradshaw, Richardson would parlay that single franchise into Spartan Foods, which would reign for years as the largest operator within the Hardee's system. After the launch of other brands, including Quincy's, the company would become the publicly traded TW Services, one of the industry's largest restaurant concerns. TW morphed into Flagstar, which in turn became Denny's Inc., the name under which the company operates today.
Richardson left the business after securing the Panthers franchise in 1993.
Said Oken: “We are excited about Bojangles’ growth potential and believe that the strategic vision and operating experience that Hugh McColl and Jerry Richardson bring to Bojangles’ will be invaluable as our team moves forward with the mission of continued growth.”
Joe Drury, Bojangles’ chairman and chief executive officer, said he believes the relationship with McColl and Richardson will propel the brand to new heights. The company recently opened restaurants or announced plans to expand in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Additional openings are slated this year for New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
It is not clear whether major management changes will take place or if the Bojangles' corporate headquarters will remain in Charlotte.
The 386 Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits units operated by the company and its franchisees are located in 11 states, Honduras and Mexico. Bojangles’ has recorded 49 consecutive months of same-store sales increases and generated systemwide sales of more than $500 million in 2006.