L Catterton Sells Stake in Punch Bowl Social to Cracker Barrel

DENVER and GREENWICH, Conn., July 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- L Catterton, the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm, today announced that it has sold its stake in Punch Bowl Social, the leader in the "eatertainment" restaurant category, to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (Nasdaq: CBRL). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Since partnering with Punch Bowl Social, L Catterton has worked closely with Robert Thompson, Punch Bowl Social's Founder and CEO, to recruit an experienced restaurant management team and execute a plan to drive unit expansion and customer loyalty, as well as build a deep real estate pipeline. With L Catterton's support, Punch Bowl Social has expanded its national footprint, more than doubling the number of units to 17 over the past two years. L Catterton also worked with Punch Bowl Social to increase its marketing initiatives, introduce an improved service model, and evolve its menu and entertainment offerings, further enhancing its culinary and social experience.

"With its differentiated menu and accessible, entertaining, and engaging environment, Punch Bowl Social has established a loyal following among its core millennial and Gen Z customer base," said Jon Owsley, Co-Managing Partner of L Catterton's Growth Fund. "We are proud of the significant growth the Company has achieved, and we believe this transaction represents a terrific outcome for Punch Bowl Social, L Catterton, and Cracker Barrel as the Company enters this exciting next phase."

"With extensive strategic, operational, and industry expertise, L Catterton has been an outstanding partner for Punch Bowl Social as we grew our brand and expanded to new markets," said Mr. Thompson. "L Catterton has a remarkable track record of supporting and growing great restaurant concepts and has been instrumental as we refined our concept, deepened our real estate pipeline, and recruited key talent to the team. Along the way, we have stayed focused on our mission of offering a unique dining, bar, and social gaming experience, unmatched by other traditional eatertainment concepts. We look forward to building on this momentum."

L Catterton has significant experience investing globally in restaurant concepts. Current and past investments include Chopt Creative Salad Company, Uncle Julio's, Velvet Taco, Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, Hopdoddy, Crystal Jade, Mendocino Farms, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges, P.F. Chang's, and many more.  

About Punch Bowl

Punch Bowl Social is the first experiential food and beverage brand to bring a made-from-scratch menu and craft beverages together with social gaming in one design-forward environment. Punch Bowl Social was named as one of Fast Company's 2019 Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World, a Nation's Restaurant News Hot Concept  in 2018, among more than a dozen other national and regional awards. Punch Bowl Social serves weekend brunch, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks alongside a variety of creative punches, local microbrews, and craft non-alcoholic beverage. For more information, please visit www.punchbowlsocial.com.

About L Catterton

With over $15 billion of equity capital across six fund strategies in 17 offices globally, L Catterton is the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. L Catterton's team of more than 180 investment and operating professionals partners with management teams around the world to implement strategic plans to foster growth, leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad thought partnership network. Since 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in leading consumer brands. L Catterton was formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault. For more information about L Catterton, please visit lcatterton.com.

Contacts

L Catterton
Andrea Rose / Kate Clark
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449

SOURCE L Catterton