SOLD: Shane's Rib Shack, Planet Smoothie Go Their Own Way
R&I interviews Chris Morocco, who becomes CEO of newly formed Petrus Brands, which will operate Shane's and Planet Smoothie.
By Christine LaFave, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, January 16, 2009
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| Chris Morocco becomes CEO of newly formed Petrus Brands, which will operate Shane’s and Planet Smoothie. |
| READ MORE: President Daryl Dollinger spoke to Chain Leader about why the Atlanta-based multiconcept company sold Shane's Rib Shack and Planet Smoothie. |
Atlanta-based Raving Brands further whittled its portfolio Thursday, selling Shane’s Rib Shack and Planet Smoothie to management and to private-equity firm Edmonds Capital LLC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Previously operating as many as nine concepts, Raving sold its breakout fast-casual hit Moe’s Southwestern Grill to Focus Brands in 2007 and sold Mama Fu’s Asian House in 2008. Now, three brands remain under the Raving umbrella: Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken, Monkey Joe’s Parties and Play, and The Flying Biscuit Café.
With the sale this week, former Raving Chief Development Officer and Senior Vice President Chris Morocco becomes CEO of newly formed Petrus Brands, which will operate Shane’s and Planet Smoothie. The two fast-casual concepts will retain the same management teams that directed them when they were part of Raving Brands.
Although smoothies and ribs might not seem the most logical portfolio pairing, Morocco says the two concepts have a good deal in common—for one, they’re maturing brands (Planet Smoothie was founded in 1995, Shane’s Rib Shack in 2002) that are aiming for expanded nationwide rather than regional growth. Second, “both have what we would call cultlike appeal,’” says Morocco.
Americans’ enthusiasm for barbecue (and for the fast-casual format) has proved unflappable in the last seven years, he says. And “on the Planet side,” he says, “we know that the consumer is only becoming more healthful.”
Before joining Raving Brands, Morocco served as principal at C&M Enterprises, which—like Raving—specialized in developing and operating early-stage and startup companies in preparation for their sale to other companies. So why form a new foodservice company with two brands that already have more than 100 units each?
“I think the reason why any of us have some interest in early-stage brands is because of the growth opportunity,” Morocco says. And with Shane’s and Planet Smoothie, two brands with a loyal following across several states, the potential for significant smart growth remains, he says. “We believe if we execute from a food-quality standpoint and [with] consistency in the store and customer service like [Shane’s Rib Shack founders Shane and Stacey Thompson] did at the original Shack, growth will be a byproduct of that.”
He adds: “We think we can turn these to brands into world-class brands and are committed to doing so over the long haul.”
Cultivating the home-grown culture of the two brands—“there really is a Shane; the original Shane’s really was a shack,” Morocco notes—will be key to strategic growth, say Morocco and Shane Thompson. “I think a lot of franchise companies fall into the trap of expanding just because they have an interest in doing so,” Thompson says. Success for Petrus, he says, will mean “really just saying no to those [potential] franchisees that don’t meet our brand or our culture.”
Says Morocco: “It’s easy to be lured away and not grow intelligently. [This move] really is about instilling a different philosophy; it’s a different company. … [And] really embracing Shane and Stacey, who are the founders, which got a little lost in the past few years.”
One top priority will be ensuring that franchisees have all of the operational support they need to help their stores as consistent and productive as possible, Thompson notes. “It’s so hard for me to be involved with this brand and just be worried about how many stores we’re going to open … to be up there in an ivory tower calling the shots,” he says.
Morocco echoes the sentiment. “We don’t want to forget that the answers are in the stores in the field,” he says.
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