Latest news with #BillPhelps
CNBC
11-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Dave's Hot Chicken CEO shares the No. 1 red flag he sees in employees—it can be a fireable offense
When it comes to company culture, Bill Phelps, the CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken and former CEO of Wetzel's Pretzels, doesn't compromise. The 69-year-old CEO says the biggest red flag he looks out for when running his business is "toxic" people — those who lack the empathy to support their teams and the generosity to share their success with others. It's an offense that can even lead to termination, he says. "I take no pride in firing people, but I take pride in having an incredible culture," Phelps tells CNBC Make It. "You have to do the things that are necessary to maintain that incredible culture." Toxic people will show up in every organization, Phelps says: "It's human nature." While tolerance for difficult behavior may vary, Phelps says he's learned from experience that the best approach is to adopt a zero-tolerance policy. That's because "the toxic tone is contagious," Phelps says. It's up to a manager, or CEO, to spot toxic behavior and take the necessary steps to eliminate it quickly while promoting and investing in employees who foster a positive culture, he adds. Since taking the helm of Dave's Hot Chicken in 2019, Phelps has grown the Pasadena, California-based company from a single store to over 300 locations globally. The company has also sold the rights to about 1,000 more locations, Phelps told CNBC's "Squawk Box" last week. Phelps also says he's not afraid to ask franchisees to leave the organization if he feels it's necessary — often through an honest conversation that gives a store operator the chance to sell their business rather than being forced out, he says. "That's a tough conversation, but it's the right conversation for the whole system," Phelps says. Phelps says toxic employees lack generosity and positivity in the workplace, but there may be other warning flags as well. Tom Gimbel, CEO of staffing and recruiting firm LaSalle Network, looks out for entitled employees that expect a promotion or a raise without going the extra mile. Meanwhile, Talia Fox, CEO of executive consulting firm KUSI Global, says her biggest red flag is employees who refuse to take responsibility for their mistakes and instead blame others, the CEOs said in 2024. "Owning your mistakes and having a high level of integrity is so critical," Fox said. "Just show up and have some honesty around it."
Forbes
09-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Forbes Daily: Immigration Protests Spark California Enforcement Face-Off
Dave's Hot Chicken is known for bringing the heat—and an unlikely group is reaping the rewards from the restaurant chain's success. The fried chicken company said last week it sold 70% of its business to private equity giant Roark Capital—which also owns brands like Subway, Dunkin' and Buffalo Wild Wings—at a $1 billion overall valuation. Its four cofounders struggled to pull together $900 to launch the first Dave's popup, but they'll now each pocket around $80 million pre-tax. Timing was key for Dave's. Chicken overtook beef as the most popular meat in the U.S. in 2010, and the trend is boosting other chains like Raising Cane's and Wingstop. Still, the company says it isn't worried about competitors. 'I went into a Popeye's and had their spicy chicken sandwich and said, 'We're going to be rich,'' says CEO Bill Phelps. Demonstrators protest outside a downtown jail in Los Angeles following two days of clashes with police during a series of immigration raids on June 8, 2025. Protests against President Donald Trump's immigration raids broke out Friday and continued through Sunday in Los Angeles, leading Trump to deploy National Guard troops—a move criticized as 'inflaming tensions' by California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. At least 60 people were arrested in San Francisco by early Monday after protesters gathering in solidarity with Los Angeles clashed with police. Despite questions around economic uncertainty in the wake of Trump's tariffs, the U.S. job market was relatively strong in May, according to a monthly report from the Labor Department. The positive data came after an earlier report last week showed the weakest monthly private sector job growth in more than two years, and stocks ended the day on a high note. Analysts worry Elon Musk's dust-up with President Donald Trump could further weigh on the already-beleagured Tesla, and on Thursday, a group of Goldman Sachs analysts cut their prediction for the company's sales. The analysts slashed their forecast for second-quarter Tesla vehicle deliveries to 365,000, which would be an 18% decline from the same period last year—the weakest quarterly delivery growth since at least 2015. The fight cost Elon Musk, with his fortune falling by $27 billion Thursday, but he's still come out ahead from his relationship with President Donald Trump. The world's richest man is still $145 billion richer than he was before endorsing Trump last July, worth $394 billion as of late Friday. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying the Intuitive Machines Moon Lander Athena as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The biggest casualty of the feud could be NASA: Last week, Trump considered canceling Musk's government contracts, and Musk responded that SpaceX would decommission its Dragon spacecraft, though he later reversed course. NASA relies heavily on SpaceX for its operations—the company's rockets launched more than half of NASA's space missions last year—and while the agency has other partners in aerospace, many are years behind SpaceX in terms of development. MORE: While SpaceX has made itself indispensable to the government, some types of contracts could still be vulnerable for cancellation if Trump follows through on his threat. And the administration could make a greater impact by steering new business to others and reorienting its plans. The Maryland man whom the Trump Administration mistakenly deported to El Salvador was returned to U.S. custody, despite the White House previously insisting it could not bring him back. The administration indicted Kilmar Abrego Garcia on charges of transporting undocumented immigrants after repeatedly claiming without evidence that he belonged to gang MS-13, which he and his family have denied him having any association with. Temi Fagbenle and the Golden State Valkyries have attracted 10,000 season-ticket buyers—around the same number the Warriors have in the same arena. The WNBA's Golden State Valkyries are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings in their inaugural season as they start from scratch, but the Bay Area team has already guaranteed itself success on its balance sheet. Forbes estimates the team has locked in at least $20 million in sponsorship revenue this season and is projected to earn another $35 million from its 10,000 season-ticket holders and various premium ticket packages—figures that dwarf what any other WNBA team can generate. Venture capital veteran Theresia Gouw Venture capitalist Theresia Gouw is a woman of many firsts. Born in Indonesia to parents of Chinese descent, Gouw immigrated to the U.S. when she was 3 years old. She later became the first person in her high school to attend Brown University, the first female partner at venture capital powerhouse Accel and cofounder of one of the first female-led VC firms in Silicon Valley. 'The American dream is so central to my personal story,' she told Forbes in 2023. She now has another 'first' to add to her list. Gouw is America's first woman billionaire venture capitalist, worth an estimated $1.2 billion. Much of her fortune stems from her 15-year tenure at Accel, where she was part of the team that led that firm's lucrative early bet on Facebook (now called Meta). She now runs Acrew Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm that she cofounded in 2019. Acrew raised $700 million in October to invest in data and security, health and fintech startups, bringing the firm's assets under management to $1.7 billion—with an emphasis on diversity, especially through its Diversify Capital Fund. Women made up just 17% of VC decision makers in 2024, per a PitchBook report. Things likely won't move toward parity anytime soon. On President Donald Trump's first day in office, he issued an executive order mandating the termination of all federal DEI programs that have supported women, people of color, individuals with disabilities and others. In addition, some of the world's biggest companies with powerful corporate venture capital arms, including Google, Meta and Goldman Sachs, have rolled back DEI initiatives. WHY IT MATTERS How Gouw will respond to the new political environment isn't clear, but for many years she has been a strong advocate for DEI, doubling down on the practice in several ways: starting Acrew, with a founding investment team that's 83% women or people of color; spearheading an initiative to bring historically Black colleges and universities into the VC world; cofounding DEI-focused fund of funds First Close Partners (now with $30 million in assets); and cofounding All Raise, a nonprofit that helps female founders and investors in Silicon Valley network and find mentors. MORE America's Richest Self-Made Women President Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that passed the House could cause millions to lose coverage through changes to the Affordable Care Act, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It also institutes work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid that would take effect in 2026: Approximately 7.8 million: The estimated number of people who could lose Medicaid coverage $715 billion: How much the bill aims to slash in Medicaid, along with $300 billion in SNAP, also known as food stamps 71%: The share of working-age adults on Medicaid who were working full or part time or in school, while an additional 12% were caregivers, according to a 2023 report There's no perfect time to start a side hustle, but simply getting off the ground with skills you already have can put you on the path to success all the more quickly. Here are some side hustles to consider: service-based, like pet sitting or a cleaning business; creative-based, such as selling artwork online; or a fully digital business, like social media marketing and freelancing. Bettors are placing wagers on the relationship breakdown between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. What were the odds on Polymarket that the two would publicly reconcile by July? A. About 10% B. About 30% C. About 50% D. About 70% Check your answer. Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.
Forbes
07-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Unlikely Group Getting Rich Off Dave's Hot Chicken's $1 Billion Deal
'How late did you guys stay out last night?' jokes Dave's Hot Chicken CEO Bill Phelps. The 69-year-old, who joined the Los Angeles-based spicy chicken chain in 2019 after leading Blaze Pizza and Wetzel's Pretzels, is sitting next to his second in-command, Dave's president and COO Jim Bitticks, another Blaze alumnus, on one side of a large conference room table in Forbes' Jersey City office. On the other side are two of Dave's four cofounders, Arman Oganesyan, 33, and Dave Kopushyan, 34, who do indeed look like they're on their way to (or from) a big night out. Kopushyan, a cook who is the brand's namesake, is coolly dressed in a white T-shirt and blue-washed jeans covered in Black stars. Oganesyan, meanwhile, dons a bright pink and orange Versace silk shirt, matching pink sunglasses and a Hermes belt with shorts, his arms and legs exposed to show intricate tattoos. Though both claim no mischief the night prior, the duo have plenty to celebrate. Their visit to Forbes is the last stop on a whirlwind two-day press tour following the June 2 announcement that Dave's sold 70% of its business to Roark Capital – the private equity giant that owns Subway, Dunkin', Buffalo Wild Wings among other restaurant brands – at a $1 billion valuation. After the interview, they're hopping on a private jet from Teterboro Airport back to Los Angeles. Dave's was founded in 2017 by Oganesyan, Kopushyan, and brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan. All four were children of Armenian immigrants who grew up together in East Hollywood and high school dropouts. They started the business as a pop-up in a parking lot near where they grew up. Their cayenne-coated, Nashville-style chicken, which comes in six different spice levels (the hottest of which, 'The Reaper' requires buyers to sign a waiver), gained an immediate cult following. Continued social media hype around the brand, which says its brand organically generates millions of views a week on TikTok, along with a cadre of celebrity investors including rapper Drake helped turn Dave's into a $620 million (2024 systemwide sales) business with over 300 global locations — and a prime takeover target. The Dave's original pop-up was set up in the parking lot of a random apartment building in East Hollywood. Dave's Hot Chicken The four cofounders, who were at one time so broke they say they struggled to pool together the $900 needed to launch the first Dave's popup, are now richer than they ever imagined. Each owned roughly 10% of the business prior to the sale and is selling around 80% of their stakes, amounting to around $80 million (pre-tax). 'The money's in our accounts,' says Oganesyan, who admits he Googled whether Roark could request the money back. 'Wires are permanent. Even if you mistakenly wire money to somebody, you can't take it back.' (The day before announcing the Roark deal, Oganesyan, a former standup comedian who is Dave's chief business officer, posted a photo of himself sitting on the hood of an electric blue McLaren with the caption: 'Patiently waiting for all my relatives in Armenia to call and ask me for money.') It's quite a jump from the last time they cashed out. The founders previously sold half the business – Dave's had just one location at the time – for $2 million in 2018 to an investor group led by CEO Phelps and the Hollywood producer John Davis, son of billionaire oil and entertainment tycoon Marvin Davis (d. 2004) who is now a prominent food investor. (The pair had having previously worked together on Wetzels, which Phelps founded, and on Blaze Pizza.) 'I fell in love with the boys. There was something about them,' says Davis, who claims he knew from the beginning: 'This is a $1 billion company.' It was really Phelps and Davis who helped it grow so big so fast and, while the duo have worked on the other two restaurant concepts together, this one is the most successful concept to date in terms of the company's ultimate valuation. Phelps and Davis both made 250 times their initial investment. According to Davis, he and Phelps were the largest shareholders in the company at the time of the sale to Roark, with roughly equal stakes. (Davis declined to share his ownership stake but says he still kept some after the sale.) Phelps, who also declined to reveal his ownership stake, says he sold off half of his shares and adds that he and the rest of his investment group voted to give away a chunk of their earnings to create a bonus pool for Dave's executives and employees, around 20 of whom will become millionaires. 'The average bonus for the support people all the way down to assistant restaurant manager level was about $100,000,' adds COO Bitticks. A lot of things had to go right for Dave's to end up where it did. One important factor was the founders' timely bet on chicken. 'The two hottest new concepts in the restaurant world are coffee and chicken,' says John Gordon, a restaurant industry expert who is the founder of Pacific Management Consulting Group. In 2010, chicken overtook beef as the most popular meat in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A seemingly insatiable appetite for the protein has helped chicken joints including Raising Cane's, Wingstop and Dave's rank among the fastest growing restaurant chains in America in recent years. Oganesyan says it was this burgeoning trend that prompted him to approach his friend Kopushyan, who he met in middle school, back in 2017. It was a tough sell at first. Kopushyan, who previously worked as a line cook at famed chef Thomas Keller's Bouchon restaurant in Los Angeles, was a vegetarian working at Elf Cafe, a veggie restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. But after a month of lobbying, Oganesyan managed to convince his friend, who developed a recipe he says is 98% the same as the one Dave's currently sells. The pair recruited Tommy Rubenyan and his older brother Gary, who would later help put up the money to open the first store. The operation was extremely scrappy. Though they initially floated the idea of selling out of a food truck, they decided to do the pop-up instead, borrowing tables and chairs from their families and using the $900 to buy a fryer and heat lamps. Dave's is known for its nuggets and sliders, which it sells with pickles, fries and Dave's signature sauce. Dave's Hot Chicken A rave review from local food blog Eater LA five days into business made Dave's an overnight sensation. Within a year, they opened their first restaurant in East Hollywood. Despite being in an area Phelps describes as a 'dump' – 'we would never approve that site today,' adds Bitticks – Dave's food went so viral that the founders claim the restaurant ended the year doing $5 million in sales. 'It was the cult following,' says Phelps. 'It was what they created through Instagram, the [Eater LA] article… It drew people to the restaurant like crazy and there would be two hour lines for that store.' The brand initially relied heavily on marketing its products through Instagram. But it's also become a big hit on TikTok, where it's trendy for people to post videos of themselves eating and reviewing Dave's' sliders, nuggets and fries. Not surprisingly, the founders say there was immediate interest from investors. They shrugged off most inquiries but one stood out: A post-it note left with the restaurant's manager. 'It just said 'founders call John Davis,' recalls Kopushyan. Davis is one of Hollywood's most prolific producers with more than 115 credits – including 'Predator' and 'Doctor Dolittle' – and $8 billion in box office earnings for the films he's backed. Over the past three decades, he's also made a name for himself as a successful early backer of early-stage fast-casual concepts. In 1997, Davis bought into Wetzel's Pretzels, an Auntie Annie's competitor founded by Phelps and Rick Wetzel (Davis and his investment group sold their stake in the business in 2008 at a valuation of $36 million). Davis and Phelps teamed up again in 2012 when they became two of the earliest investors in Blaze Pizza, another restaurant concept founded by Wetzel and his wife Elise. They sold their minority stake in the 380 restaurant chain for an estimated $250 million in 2017. Davis, who is also an investor in Pop-up Bagels, has a simple formula for building winning restaurant brands: bring on board his posse of trusted investors including Phelps, actor Samuel L. Jackson and celebrity investment advisor Paul Wachter ('we just go from deal to deal'), take the biggest ownership stake, install his own management team and install a celebrity to help rep the brand. Davis did exactly this with Dave's, convincing Phelps, who he'd worked with at both Wetzel's and Blaze, to run the brand instead of retiring. Immediately after the deal, Dave's began franchising with the help of a management team almost entirely carried over from Blaze. A recent text exchange between Dave's Hot Chicken investor John Davis and cofounder Arman Oganesyan, who kept the post-it note Davis left at the first restaurant in August 2018. John Davis Dave's second restaurant opened in 2019 and then six more the next year, according to data from the restaurant industry data collector Technomic. They targeted franchisors who had owned a Blaze, Wetzel's or another fast casual restaurant previously. Phelps also helped several executives, including Bitticks and Dave's CFO James McGehee, buy franchise locations (Bitticks owns three currently and has plans to open up two more). Dave's founders now own a combined seven locations. By 2022, a year after Dave's announced rapper Drake as its big celebrity backer (Drake is a client of Wachter's, who helped bring him into the deal, according to Davis), they'd opened nearly 100 locations, many of them in California. They've since more than tripled that number, expanding into 46 different states and seven countries. Dave's systemwide sales hit $617 million last year, up from $392 million in 2023, the Technomic data shows. In 2020, sales were just $22 million. It's not uncommon for trendy food restaurants to hit the gas too quickly on their brick and mortar growth, then suffer when they fall out of style. This is what happened with Subway, which was acquired by Roark last year for over $9 billion after shuttering nearly a quarter of its locations over the past decade. Blaze, Phelps and David' previous venture, shut 30 locations, or 10% of its total stores, last year, according to Kevin Schimpf, senior director of industry research at Technomic. Blaze's sales also dropped from $400 million in 2023 to $357 million in 2024. When asked whether their chain has any reservations about growing too quickly, Dave's leadership is dismissive. 'We understand this business really well,' says Bitticks of Dave's. 'We're going to go from opening 80 restaurants last year to roughly 155 this year, to almost 165 or 170 next year. That's the kind of growth we can maintain.' The company isn't worried about competitors. 'I went into a Popeye's and had their spicy chicken sandwich and said, 'We're going to be rich,' says Phelps. Even beloved brands like Chick-Fil-A and Raising Cane's don't rattle him, citing the eating patterns of his two young adult sons. 'They eat out twice a day,' he says. 'It's not like you only have one shot to eat out this week and it's either Dave's or Raising Cane's.' They're talking a big game but, at least for now, Dave's is still a small fry. According to Phelps, the average Dave's restaurant brings in around $3 million a year in sales (EBITDA margins are between 18% and 20%); data from Technomic suggests that number is closer to $2.5 million. This outpaces the likes of Popeyes, which recorded around $1.9 million in average sales at its more than 2,400 locations last year. But Dave's sales pale in comparison to some of its more ferocious competitors: Chick-Fil-A averaged $9.3 million at its free-standing and drive-thru restaurants last year, while Raising Cane's reportedly hit $6.2 million in average unit volume. Roark began circling Dave's five years ago when it had just 15 locations. The owners joked that the private equity firm was 'stalking' the brand as they were constantly being courted at conferences or, in Phelps' case, even one time on the golf course. Before Dave's Hot Chicken, Bill Phelps cofounded and ran Wetzel's Pretzels until 2019. Dave's Hot Chicken In the end, the owners were keen enough on the $1 billion offer and worried enough about Trump's tariffs and ensuing economic uncertainty that they rushed to close the deal through a 'truncated sales process' after agreeing to the deal initially in January, according to Bitticks. 'The [mergers & acquisitions market] has been very quiet,' echoes Gordon, the restaurant analyst. Plus, there's another good reason for Dave's to get the deal done now: 'Eating out is a form of entertainment,' says Gordon. 'You need to sell when the concept is hot.' What's trending one day may not be trending the next. And as a business deeply rooted in trends, Dave's may be particularly vulnerable to changing cultural tides. Davis, for his part, says it was largely his decision for Dave's owners to cash out when they did. 'We have to take care of our investors and give them the opportunity to get out what they want,' he says. 'What I recommended to all of them is when everything is perfect, that's the time to get out.' He adds that Roark's experience is going to 'open up' Dave's to foreign markets, which his team doesn't have as much expertise in. 'This concept is going to be really good in foreign countries.' Dave's has already sold the rights to open more than 1,000 franchise locations in the U.S., the U.K., the Middle East and Canada over the next five years. Despite the celebratory parade around the sale, Dave's founders and execs insist they are not walking away any time soon. None are contractually obligated to stay on now the Roark deal is done, but they all say they're planning to do so. Oganesyan remains Dave's chief brand officer, while Kopushyan is chief culinary officer. They highlight that they continue to hold a stake in the brand as well as multiple franchise locations. Plus, they say none of the now 55 employees at Dave's HQ have left the company since it was founded seven years ago. As for the customers who may be concerned about what will happen to Dave's in the hands of private equity: 'Our whole journey, when we were in the pop up, people were saying 'Oh when you guys get a store the quality is going to go down.' Then when we started franchising, people were like 'Oh my gosh, the franchising quality is going to go down,'' says Oganesyan. 'Every step of the way, people were always like that. And I think what I was always trying to get across to people is, as long as you have founders and people within the brand who care about the food, they care about the experience, the quality will never go down.'
USA Today
04-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Dave's Hot Chicken acquired by private equity firm that owns Subway
Dave's Hot Chicken acquired by private equity firm that owns Subway Just eight years after starting in a Los Angeles parking lot, Dave's Hot Chicken has been acquired by private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal worth approximately $1 billion to enter its "next phase of growth and innovation." A spokesperson for Dave's Hot Chicken confirmed the acquisition to USA TODAY via email on Wednesday, June 4. Started by three childhood friends in a parking lot in Los Angeles in 2017, the chain primarily offers chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches and expects to end the year with over 400 locations worldwide. According to the company, it has sold the rights to more than 1,000 franchise locations in the U.S., Middle East and Canada and will open 155-plus locations this year. 'This is one of the great entrepreneurial journeys of our time, and now we begin the next chapter in the story,' said Bill Phelps, Dave's Hot Chicken's CEO, in a news release. 'Our entire organization is excited about the fit between Dave's Hot Chicken and Roark, and we're looking forward to continuing to blow our guests' minds and unlocking growth and value for our franchise partners.' According to reporting from CNBC, Phelps, who previously led Wetzel's Pretzels for 25 years, joined Dave's in 2019, less than two years after its founding. Phelps told the business news outlet Dave's could reach up to 4,000 locations worldwide over the next 10 years. Dave's leadership team will remain in their roles, according to the news release, continuing to drive the company's "menu innovation, food quality, in-store experience, operations, marketing, branding, digital and more." More news: Dollar Tree expects to take profit hit from tariffs, shares drop on outlook What is Roark and which companies do they own? According to the acquisition announcement, Roark is an Atlanta-based private equity firm with $40 billion in equity under management. The company has several well-known brands in the restaurant and food industries in its portfolio, including Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and Sonic, among more. The company acquired sandwich giant Subway in 2023 for nearly $10 billion in what was one of the biggest fast food acquisitions ever. Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dave's Hot Chicken acquired by private equity firm that owns Subway
Just eight years after starting in a Los Angeles parking lot, Dave's Hot Chicken has been acquired by private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal worth approximately $1 billion to enter its "next phase of growth and innovation." A spokesperson for Dave's Hot Chicken confirmed the acquisition to USA TODAY via email on Wednesday, June 4. Started by three childhood friends in a parking lot in Los Angeles in 2017, the chain primarily offers chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches and expects to end the year with over 400 locations worldwide. According to the company, it has sold the rights to more than 1,000 franchise locations in the U.S., Middle East and Canada and will open 155-plus locations this year. 'This is one of the great entrepreneurial journeys of our time, and now we begin the next chapter in the story,' said Bill Phelps, Dave's Hot Chicken's CEO, in a news release. 'Our entire organization is excited about the fit between Dave's Hot Chicken and Roark, and we're looking forward to continuing to blow our guests' minds and unlocking growth and value for our franchise partners.' According to reporting from CNBC, Phelps, who previously led Wetzel's Pretzels for 25 years, joined Dave's in 2019, less than two years after its founding. Phelps told the business news outlet Dave's could reach up to 4,000 locations worldwide over the next 10 years. Dave's leadership team will remain in their roles, according to the news release, continuing to drive the company's "menu innovation, food quality, in-store experience, operations, marketing, branding, digital and more." More news: Dollar Tree expects to take profit hit from tariffs, shares drop on outlook According to the acquisition announcement, Roark is an Atlanta-based private equity firm with $40 billion in equity under management. The company has several well-known brands in the restaurant and food industries in its portfolio, including Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and Sonic, among more. The company acquired sandwich giant Subway in 2023 for nearly $10 billion in what was one of the biggest fast food acquisitions ever. Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Subway owner acquires Dave's Hot Chicken: Here's what to know Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
