When Senior Status Doesn't Cut It: Mature Restaurant Brand, Luby's, Refranchising and Selling Assets in Tight Market

Luby’s Inc., the parent company of Luby’s, Fuddruckers, Koo Koo Roo and Cheeseburger in Paradise, is facing difficulty amidst an increasingly competitive family dining market, according to an article on Nation’s Restaurant News. Luby’s Inc. “continued its sale of assets and its Fuddruckers refranchising program in the second quarter amid ongoing challenges for the brand, executives said Monday,” per the article.

Chris Pappas, Luby’s president and CEO said in a call to NRN that “The business of operating mature brands in a highly competitive market is a hard one,” the article said. Given this, the company launched a “sales asset program” last year, the article said, and have recovered some liquidity.

“Since the beginning of second quarter last year, we have closed 27 underperforming restaurants. And through our $45 million asset sales program that began last year, we generated proceeds of $34.7 million,” Pappas said, according to the article.

“As of March 13, Luby’s owned and operated 136 restaurants, including 81 Luby’s Cafeterias, 54 Fuddruckers and one Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant. The company also franchises 102 Fuddruckers in the United States, including Puerto Rico, as well as Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Panama,” the article said.