Fazoli's System Management, LLC., or Fazoli's, is an American

fast casual A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, is a restaurant that does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is a ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

headquartered in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. It was founded in 1988 and is now owned by

FAT Brands FAT Brands Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. History FAT Brands began as a holding company for Fatburger in 2017, gaining a chairman in Ed Rensi. On August 13, 2020, Johnny Rocket ...

. As of December 2024, there are 195 Fazoli's locations nationwide specializing in

Italian-American cuisine Italian-American cuisine () is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans. As immigra ...

History

Fazoli's was established as a sister brand of Long John Silver's in 1988, initially in the Lexington, Kentucky, area. In 1990, Kunihide Toyoda's Seed Restaurant Group purchased the five locations there. The chain expanded rapidly. By 1993, it had 62 restaurants within Kentucky,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. By 1997, there were 300 Fazoli's across the country, and a peak of 400 in 2004. In October 2006,

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

purchased the business. Of 319 locations, in 32 states, 179 were franchised. However, by 2008, Fazoli's sales and location count were falling. A struggling franchisee in Arizona announced it was closing all 13 of its restaurants in the state. In July 2015,

Sentinel Capital Partners Sentinel Capital Partners, L.L.C. is an American Private equity firm, private-equity firm focusing on mid-market companies. The company is headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1994 by David Lobel and John McCormack after working toge ...

acquired Fazoli's 124 company-owned and 89 franchised locations but the sole remaining location in Southern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

closed in 2016. The remaining 122 owned and operated restaurants were acquired in November 2022 by FAT Brands Inc., for $130 million. As of January 2025, Gregg Nettleton currently serves as the President of Fazoli's and President and Chief Operating Officer of FAT Brands’ Casual Dining Division.

Expansion Into Canada

In April 2024, parent company

announced that it would be kicking off its first international expansion, with it to open 25 new locations in Canada within the next 10 years. It was expected that they would open the first locations in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. The first location in Canada is set to open soon, in the southeast quadrant of

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

in the neighborhood of

Mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

Products

Fazoli's original menu options were

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

and

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

. From 1990, the emphasis shifted away from pizza towards pasta cooked

al dente In cooking, al dente (, ; ) pasta or rice is cooked to be firm to the bite. The term also extends to firmly-cooked vegetables. In contemporary Italian cooking, it is considered to be the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking ...

, and meals at a lower price point than competing

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

restaurants. In the early 2000s,

low-carbohydrate diet Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet (nutrition), diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and pro ...

s became popular and Fazoli's added low fat items with more vegetables and protein. As of 2016, Fazoli's menu includes baked pastas,

sandwiches A sandwich is a dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''container'' or ...

, salads,

parmigiano Parmesan (, ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a grana-type cheese, along with Grana Padano, the historic , and others. The term ''Parmesan'' may refer to either Parmigiano Re ...

meatballs A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, egg (food), eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. ...

and pizza. Some restaurants offer a catering menu for collection or delivery.

References

External links

Official website
{{Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants established in 1988 1988 establishments in Kentucky Fast casual restaurants Fast-food franchises Fast-food chains of the United States Companies based in Lexington, Kentucky Italian restaurants in the United States Private equity portfolio companies Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants in Kentucky American companies established in 1988 Virtual restaurant

History

Expansion Into Canada

Products

See also

References

External links