News: Arizona-based Wildflower acquired by Japan-based restaurant conglomerate

By Lisa Jennings on Sep. 04, 2024

It's the second U.S. restaurant brand buy for Tokyo-based Create Restaurants Holdings, which also bought Il Fornaio in 2019.

A Japan-based multi-concept restaurant group is on a bit of a buying spree in the U.S.

The 16-unit Wildflower bakery café chain has been acquired from its founder by Japan-based Create Restaurants Holdings Inc. (CRH) for $28.2 million, the company announced Wednesday.

It’s the second U.S. acquisition for CRH following the acquisition in 2019 of the 19-unit Italian casual-dining brand Il Fornaio. And CRH plans to acquire two to three more well-established local brands within the next couple of years to create “a sizeable restaurant conglomerate,” according to Shun Maki, head of the North America M&A division for CRH, in a LinkedIn post.

The fast-casual concept Wildflower, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded in 1995 by Louis Basile Jr., who had worked previously growing the Au Bon Pain brand. Wildflower has grown across Arizona and is known for fresh, healthful sandwiches, salads and pastas across three dayparts.

Basile originally developed the brand as Wildflower Bread Co., but later trimmed the name to simply “Wildflower,” though the concept is known for fresh baked bread and reportedly has a robust wholesale bread division. The bakery also features cakes, pies and cookies.

Wildflower ended fiscal 2023 with nearly $44 million in net sales and operating profit of $2.8 million, according to CRH. Wildflower units had an average unit volume of $2.4 million last year, according to Restaurant Business sister brand Technomic.

CRH, meanwhile, operates more than 1,100 outlets, of which 55 are outside Japan, among 231 brands, including the bakery chain Saint-Germain, the ramen concept Tetsu and the Brazilian churrasco Rio Grande Grill, according to its website.

For its acquisitions, CRH targets brands operating in a single city with a “category No. 1 position in that market,” said Maki in the post. The company generally targets chains with 10 to 20 units that are company operated.

As a buyer, CRH makes all-cash offers that are not contingent on co-investors or debt finance, he added. And the company is a “buy-and-hold acquirer resulting in stable ownership, unlike the fund-owned brands that change ownership every few years.”

Restaurant acquisitions are heating up of late, though some brands are selling at steep discounts.

On Tuesday, private-equity firm Sycamore Partners announced the acquisition of Playa Bowls. Brands like Red Lobster, Roti, Tender Greens, Rubio’s and Buca di Beppo have sought buyers through bankruptcy.