HuHot Franchisee Turns To Private Equity

HuHot Mongolian Grill's largest franchisee has just been acquired by private equity investment firm Sun Capital. The Omaha, Nebraska-based CCW, is the franchisee of 21 HuHot restaurants across the Midwest, including locations in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota.

"CCW has built a strong business on a unique concept, and we're excited to partner with this experienced management team to build on their tremendous success," said Marc Leder, co-CEO at Sun Capital. "The company is well positioned for continued, substantial growth."

Sun Capital's Managing Director Anthony Polazzi added, "We see significant opportunity for CCW to expand with the HuHot brand and beyond. We are actively exploring development partnerships with fast-casual franchisors, as our focus will be on working with the business' outstanding operating team to scale this single concept franchisee into a multi-concept platform."

The HuHot brand welcomes the move. Molly Vap O'Shea, chief brand officer at HuHot said, "In an industry where the appetite in the market is to acquire high performing restaurant units, the Sun Capital acquisition proves that our model is working. We are excited to welcome Sun Capital to our family and look forward to helping them support their aggressive growth plans for the HuHot concept."

O'Shea said the Sun Capital acquisition validates HuHot's concept, scalability, and strong unit economics. "We take pride in providing full support to our franchises; from concept evolution to cutting-edge marketing tactics, our family-owned business continues to make decisions with the franchisees and the success of the brand equally in mind," she said.

Sun Capital has experience in the restaurant sector through its investments in current affiliated portfolio companies, including Bar Louie Restaurants, with more than 100 locations across the U.S.; Boston Market, with more than 460 nationwide locations; and Smokey Bones, with over 65 locations.