Good Times Restaurants, the owner of Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard and Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, will become the sole owner of five Bad Daddy’s units in the Carolinas after buying out its joint-venture partners for $4.4 million.
The deal brings all of Bad Daddy’s traditional locations under company ownership, Good Times said Monday in a press release, though it was unclear how many of the chain’s 41 units are considered traditional. It funded the purchase with cash reserves.
The five stores are in Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Greenville and Greensboro, N.C., and Greenville, S.C. Good Times has operated all of them since they opened.
“We are really excited about officially having full ownership of these locations,” Good Times CEO Ryan Zink said in a statement. “They are already family as former joint-venture restaurants, and we have deep familiarity with the operating history in each location.”
Golden, Colo.-based Good Times took a 48% stake in North Carolina-based Bad Daddy’s in 2013 and acquired the rest in 2015 for $21 million. The full-service chain offers gourmet burgers, salad and craft beer in small-footprint stores. It’s primarily located in the Southeast and Colorado.
Last year, Bad Daddy’s posted record sales of $103.2 million and an 11.2% increase in same-store sales but struggled with profitability due to rising costs.
Zink said in December that the brand plans to resume expansion this year with an opening in Hunstville, Ala., and negotiations underway in Birmingham, Ala., and Raleigh, N.C.
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