Golden Gate Bell Restaurant Holdings, LLC (GGBRH), an affiliate of A&C Ventures Inc. (ACV), is pleased to announce the acquisition of 72 Taco Bell restaurants from franchisee, Dolan Foster Enterprises, LLC (DFE). The restaurants are located throughout The San Francisco Bay Area, from Benicia to Santa Cruz and as far east as Tracy, CA. DFE, founded in 1969, opened its first restaurant in Oakland, CA, and was one of the larger Taco Bell franchises in the nation.
David Grieve, President of ACV and Manager of GGBRH said, “We are very excited to expand our presence in the YUM! Brands system and to become the largest Taco Bell franchise operator in Northern California. It was a team effort from start to finish, and I’d like to thank everyone for their diligence in producing a win-win outcome for all parties involved. We’re also very fortunate that Randy Rodrigues, Paul Luce, Monica Schneider and their talented team will be staying on board as our partners and to lead operations going forward. I’d also like to wish Richard Low all the best on his retirement and thank him for his unwavering efforts to build DFE into one of the top 10 Taco Bell franchises in the United States.”
Including the Dolan Foster units, ACV, through its partnerships, now has an ownership stake in more than 100 YUM! Brands restaurants. Grieve added, “We look forward to further expanding our YUM! Brands portfolio, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. In fact, we already have a jumpstart on our development schedule with several potential sites in our focus for future restaurants.”
The business acquisition and development facilities were financed by a syndicate of banks led by Citizens Bank, along with participants Bank of America and BMO Harris Bank. Heritage Bank of Commerce provided financing for the acquisition of the real estate holdings associated with the sale. Trinity Capital represented DFE as their exclusive advisor in the transaction.
A&C Ventures, Inc. (www.acventures.com) is a private commercial real-estate-investment company headquartered in Sonoma, California. Since it’s inception in 1992, ACV has acquired more than 400 properties in 35 states valued at over one billion dollars, and currently owns 165 properties in 30 states with an asset value in excess of $650 million. For more information, contact Matt Howarth, Chief Operating Officer, at mhowarth@acventures.com or (707) 935-3700.
Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE: YUM), is the nation’s leading Mexican-inspired quick service restaurant. Taco Bell serves made to order and customizable tacos, burritos, and specialties such as the exclusive Doritos Locos Tacos, gourmet- inspired Cantina Bell Menu and lower calorie Fresco Menu. The company encourages customers to “Live Más,” both through its food and in ways such as its Feed The Beat music program and its nonprofit organization, the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens. Taco Bell and its more than 350 franchise organizations have nearly 6,000 restaurants across the United States that proudly serve more than 36 million customers every week.