Wendy's Sells Baja Fresh

Stories about food chain sales, openings, and closures interest me. Gee, I wonder why.

Nancy Luna reports in the Orange County Register that Baja Fresh has been sold for $31 million.

Quotes:
>>David Kim is the key investor in the deal, which includes other private stakeholders. He runs RD Restaurant Group in Anaheim, which operates and franchises hundreds of Sweet Factory, KaBloom, Cinnabon and Denny's locations.

Wendy's bought Baja Fresh for $245 million in 2002, making Kim's deal sweet, say analysts.<<

Wendy's bought for $245 million and sold for $31 million? Sounds like a dot.com deal.

>>Baja Fresh operates 300 restaurants, including 23 in Orange County.
[snip]
The sale comes as Wendy's looks to shed its secondary brands to focus its energies on reviving sales at its flagship hamburger chain, interim Chief Executive Kerrii Anderson said.
[snip]
When Wendy's bought the Thousand Oaks-based Baja Fresh in 2002, it was one of the hottest concepts in the growing fast-casual segment. The chain caught the attention of health-conscious consumers with its "fresh Mex" fare and self-serve salsa bar.<<

I love the salsa bar. If they get rid of that, I'll never forgive them.

>>Wendy's bought Baja hoping to put some muscle in its own earnings. But, soon after the acquisition, rival chains with similar strategies and faster service began winning the attention of diners, including Chipotle and Jack in the Box's Qdoba Mexican Grill.<<