Quality Restaurant Group LLC, a multi-concept franchise operator based in Greensboro, N.C., has acquired 62 Sonic Drive-In restaurants in Florida and Alabama as part of an ongoing expansion, the company said Friday.
The newly acquired will be operated by a new division of the group, Quality Drive-In.
Over the past year, QRG has purchased around 150 restaurants and now owns and operates 67 Moe’s Southwest Grill restaurants in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., nearly 200 Pizza Hut locations in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Pennsylvania and 27 units of Arby’s in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota. They are operated by separate QRG divisions: Quality Fresca, Quality Huts and Quality Meats, respectively.
The group is backed financially by GenRock Capital Management, a private equity firm formed in 2017. GlenRock manages $130 million in institutional equity and $275 million of gross assets in its “Fund I” for the purpose of acquiring franchised quick-service and fast-casual restaurants and related real estate. It is run by founder and managing partner Matt Ailey and operating partner Matt Slaine, who is also QRG’s CEO. Since its founding, GenRock has closed 10 acquisitions of franchised restaurants totaling nearly 350 locations and 70 parcels of real estate, with cumulative gross transaction value of $260 million.
QRG was founded in late 2018 when it purchased its Pizza Hut locations.
“Since founding Quality Restaurant Group ... we have watched and admired Sonic, a company we consider to be a gold standard in the quick-service restaurant category,” Slaine said. “The drive-in concept, which is nostalgic to many, remains timeless and more popular than ever. Sonic is a place that families can enjoy throughout the week be it for a complete meal or just afternoon ice cream. This is a brand we believe in. We look forward to welcoming our new team members into the QRG family and continuing to grow our relationship with Sonic as well as parent company Inspire Brands out of Atlanta.”
Inspire Brands is also the parent company of Arby’s.
As of the end of 2019, there were more than 3,500 Sonic locations nationwide.
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