HOUSTON Mexican Restaurants Inc. has sold its six-unit La Senorita chain to Hacienda Mexican Restaurants for $2.6 million.
The company said Tuesday that proceeds would be used to pay down corporate debt, which stood at $7.5 million in December.
Mexican Restaurants, which now operates or franchises 73 restaurants under the casual-dining brands Casa Olé and Monterey’s Tex-Mex Café, as well as the fast-casual Mission Burrito, said the sale is part of its strategy to pare down holdings and focus on the growth of Mission Burrito.
“For the La Senorita employees and customers, it provides them with an owner located in their trade area that can be more attuned to their needs in these difficult economic times,” said Curt Glowacki, Mexican Restaurants' chief executive. “For Mexican Restaurants, it will help us focus on our strategies of building Mission Burrito and enhancing our core concepts in our Southwestern-based trade area.”
La Senorita is based in Michigan, and buyer Hacienda, which operates about 12 restaurants, is based in Indiana. According to Hacienda chief financial officer Tammy Boetsma, the newly purchased locations will remain La Senorita restaurants.
For 2008, Mexican Restaurants booked a net loss of $4 million on revenues of $81.9 million. That year it booked about $5.8 million in expenses from goodwill impairment and restaurant closure costs. A year earlier, Mexican Restaurants earned $349,000 on revenues of $82.1 million.
Contact Sarah E. Lockyer at [email protected].