Southpaw, a leading owner and operator within the Quick Service Restaurants sector, today announced that it has acquired a portfolio of nearly 40 established Taco Bell locations in the Greater Atlanta market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The addition of this portfolio brings Southpaw’s ownership of Taco Bells to 115 locations across five states and, including its Dunkin’ locations, 180 total restaurants in eight states with total sales of more than $300 million annually.
Southpaw believes that the acquisition of the Atlanta portfolio presents a meaningful opportunity to add geographic diversity and scale within its Taco Bell network and build upon the strong performance Southpaw has experienced at its Mid-Atlantic and Kentucky locations. Additionally, the Atlanta portfolio acquisition provides Southpaw with a larger balance sheet off which to make additional strategic investments. The Company intends to continue expanding its portfolio through both add-on acquisitions and new store development.
“We are thrilled to deepen our strong relationship with Taco Bell and our footprint within this iconic brand. Taco Bell combines segment dominance with market-leading profits, consistent menu innovation and disruptive marketing. There are few [quick-service] concepts which have exhibited more post-pandemic resilience than Taco Bell,” says Judd Wishnow, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Southpaw. “We have been successfully operating Taco Bell restaurants for more than five years and take great pride in the high-value products and loyal customer base the franchise has built.
“Our acquisition in Atlanta gives us a network of locations that we believe will benefit from our operating strategies and unique ability to capitalize on white space in the market for new development. We could not be happier with the growth of our Taco Bell platform, and we look forward to continued expansion, as we seek to create additional value for our stakeholders.”
Southpaw most recently acquired 34 Mid-Atlantic Taco Bell locations in December 2021.
