Veggie Grill, the popular West Coast restaurant concept known for plant-based food, has completed its fourth successful round of equity funding, supporting its continuing rapid expansion. Armed with 16 percent same-store-sales growth, a more than doubling of restaurant locations in the most recent year, and strong investor confidence, the company quickly secured the $20 million common stock funding from both current shareholders and new investors. Chief Energizing Officer Greg Dollarhyde confirmed that the company is on track to double store count again within the next 18 months and notes, “The interest we received from our investors was quite substantial and exciting. This additional capital base will support our aggressive growth plans to meet the increasing consumer demand for delicious, vegetarian food.”
A substantial part of the capital raise came from California-based Brentwood Associates, a leading private equity firm experienced in successful restaurant investing. Following on from a previous investment in the last round, Brentwood has secured a substantial minority position in the company as the largest single shareholder. Bill Barnum, partner, and Rahul Aggarwal, managing director of Brentwood will be joining the company’s board of directors. Dollarhyde adds, “We are fortunate to have this sizable interest and commitment from Brentwood. They are truly building an expertise and experience base in our industry and we look forward to enjoying the benefit of their counsel for years to come.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Greg Dollarhyde and the incredible team at Veggie Grill” says Aggarwal. “The concept is very well positioned in the industry and has a lot of runway ahead of it.”
Dollarhyde came on board as CEO in 2011 with a mandate to strategically and aggressively grow the Veggie Grill brand with co-founders T.K. Pillan and Kevin Boylan. Veggie Grill’s total revenue is running more than 100 percent over last year and they are forecasted to open new locations in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and Seattle during the first half of 2013.
