News: Multi-Unit Franchisee Ampex Brands Buys Bellagreen

Laura Michaels Apr 27, 2023

When CEO Tabbassum Mumtaz evaluated the people behind Ampex Brands, he concluded he had a “good, solid, robust team” and asked himself, “What could or should stop us from being a good franchisor?” The answer, it turned out, was nothing.

Mumtaz and Ampex, a multi-unit operator of Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and 7-Eleven franchises with 400 units and revenue close to $500 million, acquired French bakery-café chain Au Bon Pain in July 2021. A year later, Ampex bought Bellagreen, a fast-casual concept serving soups, salads, pizza, pastas and entrees from its locations in the Houston and Dallas metros.

The purchase and subsequent revitalization of Au Bon Pain, which last year introduced a new store design and modernized kiosk, “firmly established Ampex as a fast-casual operator,” the company wrote in its Franchise Times Dealmakers nomination, and for Mumtaz, whet his appetite to build another, albeit smaller, brand.

“We invested in the future of the brand,” Mumtaz said of Bellagreen, which has just eight units. “There’s so many places that crave Bellagreen, in Texas and beyond. From eight I think we can take it to 20 in no time.”

The surge in sales and traffic at its quick-service restaurants during the pandemic put Ampex in a strong capital position, and Mumtaz said it will kickstart Bellagreen’s growth with company-owned stores—it has two leases signed, in San Antonio and Austin—before it “eventually” launches a franchise program.

The proximity of Ampex, which is based in Richardson, an inner Dallas suburb, to Bellagreen meant Mumtaz and his team were able to visit each location multiple times and during different dayparts as part of the due diligence. Mumtaz said he found restaurants that were not only consistently busy, with a mix of in-person dining and to-go orders, but also “filled with joy and happiness.”

“Guests were excited about the product,” he said. “A customer said, ‘I would not change anything if I bought it.’” And the positive vibe, he continued, was backed up by the numbers.

“They were getting caught up to the numbers they were running pre-COVID sooner than others,” he said.

The transaction itself went smoothly, he noted, in large part because of Ampex CFO Eric Easton and Tasha Waldron, the company’s senior vice president of finance, who Mumtaz said “made the deal happen.” Ampex retained key members of Bellagreen’s team, including Director of Operations Erik Bednar and Director of Culinary Silvestre Reyes, and promoted Robbin Appleby, a general manager in Houston, to regional manager.

Providing growth opportunities to employees is central to Mumtaz’s leadership philosophy, noted Ampex CMO Beth Collins, as is engaging them in the future of the company. That approach proved consequential as Ampex introduced Bellagreen employees to the brand’s new owners.

Ampex leaders “met with employees to share what they saw in Bellagreen and their short- and long-term strategies for success,” the nomination said. “They stressed their relentless dedication to understanding the business and to a symbiotic integration of the brand and team members.”

Morgan Kingston Advisors acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Bellagreen. Ampex was represented by Tucker Ellis and Bellagreen by Wyrick Robbins.