Focus Brands is an American company that is an affiliate of the American 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 ...

that currently owns the

Schlotzsky's Schlotzsky's is an American franchise chain of restaurants, specializing in sandwiches and pizza. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Schlotzsky's has more than 330 franchised and company-owned locations throughout the United Stat ...

, 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 t ...

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', Apri ...

McAlister's Deli McAlister's Deli is an American chain of fast casual restaurants founded in 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by retired dentist Dr. Don Newcomb. There are currently over 500 locations in 29 states. The menu includes deli sandwiches, "giant spud ...

, Auntie Anne's and Jamba brands. It is located in

Sandy Springs, Georgia Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, ...

, and operates over 5,000 stores.

History

Focus Brands began as a holding company for Carvel Corporation after Roark Capital bought controlling interest in the ice cream franchisor from

Investcorp Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...

in November, 2001. Roark purchased Cinnabon and the international operations of

Seattle's Best Coffee Seattle's Best Coffee is a brand of wholesale coffee, ground coffee, and K-cup coffee that is owned by Nestlé. While Seattle's Best Coffee used to have coffeehouses in the United States, they appear to have closed down or have been converted t ...

from AFC Enterprises in November 2004, combining the three brands under its Focus Brands affiliate. Focus Brands purchased Schlotzsky's from Bobby Cox Companies in 2006, less than two years after Bobby Cox had purchased the brand from bankruptcy. On August 11, 2007, Focus Brands announced that it purchased the

brand from Raving Brands. In October 2010, Focus Brands acquired the mostly mall-based franchiser Auntie Anne's, a maker of pretzels. In June 2017, Kat Cole was named Chief Operating Officer. On August 2, 2018, Focus Brands announced that it would acquire Frisco-based smoothie-maker Jamba, formerly known as

Jamba Juice Jamba Juice, doing business as Jamba, is an American company that produces blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and similar products. The company is co-owned—with Moe's Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, McAlister's Del ...

. The acquisition was completed on September 14, 2018. In February 2020, Jim Holthouser was named Chief Executive Officer.

References

External links

Company homepage
Companies based in Sandy Springs, Georgia Restaurant groups in the United States Restaurants established in 2001 American companies established in 2001 Private equity portfolio companies {{food-company-stub