Buyer of Fatburger hopes to see chain go national

Phil Levine

Monday, March 20, 2000 | 11:29 a.m.

Restaurant Teams International Inc. said Friday it acquired FB Holding Corp., parent company of the Fatburger restaurant chain.

Longview, Texas-based RTI purchased the Santa Monica, Calif.-based fast food company for $8 million in cash.

In Las Vegas, franchisee Kempf Enterprises currently operates eight Fatburger outlets; a new restaurant opened earlier this month at 6775 West Flamingo Road near Rainbow Boulevard.

The Fatburger restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip, located next to the MGM Grand hotel-casino, is the chain's highest volume store.

Kempf operates two other casino outlets at the Texas Station and Sunset Station hotel-casinos.

The company currently employs more than 200 people at its Las Vegas locations.

Dan Kempf, marketing and administration director for Kempf Enterprises, said the acquisition would not affect his company's plans to grow its local franchise.

"There's a good chance we could look at opening another store in the Boulder Station (hotel-casino) about second quarter 2001," he said.

"There's also a chance we would look to open down the road in the Palace Station, and perhaps the new Station casino being built in Green Valley."

Future expansion could also include new stand-alone outlets, as well as a second location on the Las Vegas Strip, he said.

"We first opened in Las Vegas in 1991 with our Strip restaurant," he said. "It's done very well for us, so we might want to look at a second location perhaps a little further north on the Strip."

RTI Chief Financial Officer Curtis Swanson said the addition of the Fatburger chain complemented his company's other holdings.

"We recently purchased Tanners, a 10-unit restaurant chain out of Atlanta, and also operate Regulatory Solutions Inc., a company that provides OSHA compliance solutions for the restaurant industry," he said.

"We also plan to add as many as 10 new Tanners over the next 12 to 18 months. We're convinced this acquisition works well with our other current and future holdings, as we grow our company into a full multi-concept holding company."

Swanson said RTI hopes the Fatburger chain will expand beyond its regional presence and establish itself as a national brand within the next five years.

Kempf Enterprises will continue to operate the Fatburger franchise for all of Clark County, he said.

Founded in 1952, Fatburger currently operates 37 locations in California and Southern Nevada, 24 of which are owned and operated by franchisees. Last year, the company reported sales of more than $25 million.