Schlotzsky's is an American franchise

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s, specializing in

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

es and pizza. The company is headquartered in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Schlotzsky's has more than 330 franchised and company-owned locations throughout the United States. Most locations are in the south and southwestern United States, but the company is expanding into areas across the country, particularly the north and southeast. Schlotzsky's is part of the

Focus Brands Focus Brands is an American company that is an affiliate of the American private equity firm Roark Capital Group that currently owns the Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli, Auntie Anne's and Jamba brands. ...

portfolio of brands.

History

In 1971, Don and Dolores Dissman founded the company in a "small, hole-in-the-wall shop" in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, on South Congress. The initial menu consisted of one sandwich, called "The Original," consisting of mixed meats, cheeses and black olives on a freshly made, toasted bun." It was based on the

muffuletta The muffuletta or muffaletta is both a type of round Sicilian sesame bread and a popular sandwich that originated among Italian immigrants in New Orleans, Louisiana, using the same bread. History The muffuletta bread has origins in Sicily. T ...

sandwich. In 1981, the company had 100 franchise stores when real estate investors, John and Jeff Wooley and Gary Bradley, purchased the company for less than $3 million. Bradley split with the Wooleys in 1982, with Bradley taking the real estate business while the Wooleys kept the chain. The Wooleys expanded Schlotzsky's menu to include specialty pizzas, toasted wraps, salads,

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

s, and other items. The Wooleys also took the company public on 15 December 1995, trading as BUNZ on NASDAQ. The chain peaked in 2001 with 759 stores and over $400 million in sales, when same-store sales began to plateau. 2003 saw the company posting an $11.7 million loss; as a result, the Schlotzsky's board of directors relieved the Wooley brothers of day-to-day management on 17 June 2004 and named Sam Coats as the new chief executive officer of the company. The Wooleys eventually resigned from the board in July 2004. On August 3, 2004, Schlotzsky's filed for voluntary

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Antonio, Texas, reporting liabilities of approximately $71.3 million and assets of approximately $111.7 million. The company ceased public trading when Bobby Cox Companies acquired Schlotzsky's assets out of bankruptcy. Under new ownership and management, Schlotzsky's spent two years strengthening its franchise operations and restructuring the brand. The new owner operated the business under the corporate entity Schlotzsky's, Ltd., and began streamlining the menu. Schlotzsky's strengthened franchise operations and licensed new franchisees in Texas and other states. The company also planned to open several new corporate-owned stores. On 21 November 2006, Schlotzsky's was acquired by

, an affiliate of private equity firm

Roark Capital Group Roark Capital Group is an American private equity firm with over $33 billion in assets under management. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies, primarily in the franchise/multi-location, restaurant and fo ...

, parent company of

Moe's Southwest Grill Moe's Southwest Grill, referred to informally as Moe's, is an American fast casual restaurant franchise chain that was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2000FOCUS Brands press release, FOCUS Brands to Acquire Moe’s Southwest Grill', April ...

, Carvel,

Cinnabon Cinnabon is an American chain of baked goods stores and kiosks, normally found in areas with high pedestrian traffic such as malls, airports and rest stops. The company's signature item is a cinnamon roll. As of December 2017, there are more th ...

and

Auntie Anne's Auntie Anne's is an American franchised chain of pretzel shops founded by Anne F. Beiler and her husband, Jonas, in 1988. Auntie Anne's serves products such as pretzels, dips, and beverages. They also offer Pretzels & More Homemade Baking Mix f ...

. The following year, the company named Kelly Roddy as president, who joined Schlotzsky's from

H-E-B Grocery Company H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 340 stores throughout the U.S. state of Texas, as well as in northeast Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an u ...

. With Kelly on board, Schlotzsky's planned for growth and a system-wide reimage, which included updated restaurants, improved menus, table service, and the addition of Cinnabon. The company remodeled locations across the country with a "Lotz Better" look, which included bright, bold colors, circle-themed furniture and decor and playful slogans.

Slogan

The current slogan is "It's a mouthful", launched in 2021. Former slogans include "All 'Round, Lotz Better," "Lotz Better," "Every Bite Lotz Better", "Funny name. Serious sandwich,” “No substitutesky’s,” and "Just one sandwich, it's that good."

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Companies , Food Companies based in Austin, Texas Food and drink companies based in Atlanta Submarine sandwich restaurants Restaurants established in 1971 American companies established in 1971 1971 establishments in Texas Bakery cafés Bakeries of the United States Restaurants in Texas Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurant chains in the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 2006 mergers and acquisitions

History

Slogan

See also

References

External links