In mid-January, Michigan-based Halo Country LLC, is a holding company majority owned and operated by entrepreneur Chance Richie, acquired the Halo Burger restaurant chain. Halo Burger is a quick service burger chain with 15 locations in Michigan, most in the Flint and surrounding area. Halo Burger has been serving its fresh, never-frozen hamburgers since 1923. “Lou Dortch Sr. and his entire team run a first-class organization, and we are very excited about the opportunity we have with Halo Burger,” said CEO Chance Richie. “We are very proud of the history of the Halo Burger brand and what it means to southeast Michigan, especially Genesee County, and we think our customers will be excited about the improvements we plan on making to our existing locations.” Richie and Halo Country are eager to combine Halo Burger’s local history with the latest innovations in the restaurant industry. Focuses include the introduction of new technology, the highest standards of speed and service, a commitment to the Michigan community and ingredients that deliver on Halo Burger’s fresh and never frozen promise to each guest. Jim Sutherland, Halo Burger’s Director of Operations, added, “The existing management team and staff are excited to be working with the Halo Country team.” (Halo Country LLC – www.haloburger.com).......
Barbeque restaurant chain Famous Dave's of America Inc. reports that it has sold seven locations in the Chicago area to Windy City Restaurant Holdings LLC, a company controlled by an existing franchisee, Elliott Baum. The sale includes the Illinois Famous Dave’s locations in Addison, Algonquin, Bolingbrook, Evergreen Park, North Riverside, Orland Park, and Oswego. Baum has been a franchisee since 2003 and is the owner and operator of six Famous Dave’s franchises in the Ohio and Michigan markets. As of mid-December, Famous Dave's owns 44 restaurants and franchises 136 additional units, with locations in 33 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Canada. Famous Dave's menu features barbequed and grilled meats, complemented by an ample selection of salads, side items, sandwiches, and desserts. (Famous Dave’s – 952/294-1300, www.famousdaves.com).........
Casual dining and sports bar chain, Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar has opened its 10th Mexican location bringing the company one step closer to its goal of having a total of 26 new locations to the country over the next 2.5 years. The growth in the Mexican market this year reinforced the need for another support center, which opened in Mexico City in September. In addition to the established locations, Boston’s Mexico development plans for 2016 include restaurants in Veracruz, Monterrey, Playa del Carmen, Coatzacoalcos and Puebla. (Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar – 972/484-9022, www.bostons.com).....
Jonathan Muhtar has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc., the Greenwood Village, Colorado-based chain of casual dining quality burger restaurants. He will be responsible for driving all aspects of Red Robin’s marketing and menu, positioning the brand for optimum performance in the highly competitive casual dining industry. He will lead Red Robin teams in the areas of menu innovation and implementation, customer relationship management, social media, brand positioning, pricing, promotions and field marketing, as well as directing media strategy. He will report to Denny Marie Post, Red Robin’s Executive Vice President and Chief Concept Officer. Muhtar brings more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience in branding, marketing and product innovation. Before joining Red Robin, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Captain D’s restaurant chain. Prior to that he held global marketing, new concept strategy and product marketing roles at Burger King, served as a consultant at Swander Pace & Company and, as an entrepreneur, owned and operated the first Smoothie King franchise in South Florida. (Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. – 303/846-6000 www.redrobin.com).....
In June, local businesswoman Lisa Tang will open a new Huddle House 24-hour full service restaurant at 201-203 South Lake Park Blvd. at Hamlet Ave. in Carolina Beach in North Carolina. Given the scenic location, the unit will include rooftop dining. The rooftop dining is estimated to be for about 100 guests. Typically open 24-hours, Huddle House serves a Southern-inspired home-style breakfast, lunch and dinner menu all day. The unit will be the first of the chain’s over 400 restaurants with the rooftop dining. (Huddle House - 770/325-1300 www.huddlehouse.com)..…….