The Greene Turtle launches program to invest in smaller restaurants, help them expand

Press — July 11, 2022

The Greene Turtle launches program to invest in smaller restaurants, help them expand

By Mikah Christian

July 7, 2022

Written by: Amanda Yeager

The Greene Turtle is poised for a growth spurt, and a new program from the company that will invest in up-and-coming food service concepts aims to help other restaurants do the same.

The Columbia-based sports bar and restaurant chain has established a holding company, ITA Group Holdings LLC, that will serve as a parent for The Greene Turtle as well as for the Founder Growth Platform, an incubator of sorts for restaurant concepts looking to grow. The platform already has plans to invest in six concepts, including local brands like Cypriana, Neo Pizza and RegionAle.

In all, ITA Group Holdings is on track to add 10 new restaurants to its portfolio in 2022: Four company-owned locations of The Greene Turtle and six units from Founder Growth Platform participants. Future years could yield 10 to 15 new restaurant locations, said Greene Turtle CEO Geo Concepcion.

Inspiration for the platform came from observing the experiences of small restaurant owners as they emerged from the pandemic and considered possibilities for expansion. In the wake of Covid-19, many banks have been wary of lending to restaurateurs, limiting options for growth.

“They really didn’t have a great set of options on how to finance their growth, how to get operational management to take something from one or three units to 10 or 15,” Concepcion said. “As we sort of got a better understanding of it and really saw where there was a gap in the market, this idea for Founders Growth Platform started to take shape.”

The program will identify restaurant concepts that are “profitable and scalable in [their] current form,” said Concepcion, as well as founders who “fit the energy and work well with the team.” Many of the business models are likely to be fast-casual concepts, the Greene Turtle CEO said, because they take up smaller footprints and require fewer overhead costs. The fast-casual sector has been one of the restaurant industry’s most resilient during the pandemic, with a business model already geared toward takeout.

Geo Concepcion is CEO of the Greene Turtle.

Photo by: ERIC STOCKLIN

The Founders Growth Platform functions “almost like a venture fund,” Concepcion said, offering management support as well as all of the capital to build out the first unit in a restaurant’s expansion. For each new location after that, FGP will put up a minimum of half the capital needed for the build. In return, the platform gets 50% of a restaurant’s profits after its initial investment is repaid.

“It’s a partnership, both in substance and in name,” Concepcion said. “The program is designed so founders have significant skin in the game and significant interest in the growth.”

So far, the Founders Growth Platform has seven participating restaurant brands. Among them are Baltimore-area concepts like Neo Pizza and Taphouse, a pizza and craft beer restaurant with locations in Annapolis, Columbia and Owings Mills; RegionAle, a sandwich spot with stores in Canton and Ellicott City; and the Tuscany-Canterbury Mediterranean restaurant Cypriana, which will lean into a more fast casual model for its expansion.

Tapas restaurant Madrid Spanish Taverna, an FGP participant that got its start in the Atlanta suburbs, recently opened a Columbia location and plans to expand even more. And Fat Patties, a new burger-and-shakes concept from RegionAle founder Kevin Curley, has plans to open in the McHenry Row shopping center in Locust Point. The remaining two platform participants are Papi’s Cuban and Caribbean Grill, which has five locations in Georgia, and Minneapolis-based CHX Premium Kitchen, which serves chicken tenders and biscuits.

Another company joining the team is Clark Crew BBQ, an Oklahoma-based barbecue restaurant that was recently acquired by ITA Group Holdings. Clark Crew BBQ founder Travis Clark worked with Concepcion at Famous Dave’s before starting his own restaurant, and he will stay on as president of the brand while also serving as a partner in ITA.

Concepcion said he also plans to tap Clark to help guide Founders Growth Platform companies, drawing from his own experience as he looks to grow the Clark Crew brand from one restaurant in Oklahoma City.

“These are companies with a passion to succeed, win and be the best in the business,” Clark said in a statement. “I’m also excited to take what we’ve learned the last few years and help other entrepreneurs, who are beginning the journey of building their brand, make that dream a reality.”

Link to article: https://bizj.us/1qfsfz

The Greene Turtle

The Greene Turtle launches program to invest in smaller restaurants, help them expand

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