Posted April 28, 200817 yr Another Columbus-based restaurant going bye-bye... Max & Erma's chain sold to Pittsburgh group G&R Acquisition will pay $4 per share Monday, April 28, 2008 10:07 AM By Amy Saunders, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH G&R Acquisition Inc. said today it will acquire all outstanding shares of Max & Erma's for $4 per share. Max & Erma’s said in September that it was exploring alternatives for its future, including the sale of the company. “The transaction will allow us to focus our resources on the business and avoid the costly and complex requirements of being a public company,” president and CEO Rob Lindeman said in a statement. This is the second central Ohio restaurant chain to change hands in the past week. Last week, Dublin-based Wendy’s International was acquired by Triarc, the parent company of Arby's. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com
April 28, 200817 yr looks like i'll have to start eating at Max & Erma's.. never been there before... I don't know where the anger comes from, UncleRando... but this move strengthens Max & Erma's financially.. and keeps the operations in Columbus here's an exerpt from a much longer article: http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/28/daily4.html?surround=lfn Pittsburgh firm to acquire Max & Erma's for $10.2 million Pittsburgh Business Times Max & Erma's Restaurants Inc. is going private in a $10.2 million deal. The Columbus, Ohio-based restaurant chain agreed to be acquired by Pittsburgh firm G&R Acquisition Inc. G&R will buy all 2.55 million outstanding Max & Erma's shares for $4 a share, a 37 percent premium over the stock's Friday closing price of $2.92. The boards of Max & Erma's and G&R have approved the deal, while stockholders and executives that hold a total of 45 percent of company stock have voted in favor of the transaction, Max & Erma's said.
April 28, 200817 yr Personally I like it despite M&E having no real personality. I grew up near the 1st store in Columbus so I have been there 100 times at least. I have a thing for their burgers, you can get them in 2 sizes so if you feel like being a fatty you can get the 10oz and if you want to order like a lady there is a 6oz. Plus they will cook it medium-rare for me (this is becoming increasingly rare) and the meat is usually high quality (tastes better than the crap "triple prime" burger at Ruby Tuesdays). Even living DT I run out to the burbs every quarter or so to have a M&E burger.
April 28, 200817 yr looks like i'll have to start eating at Max & Erma's.. never been there before... I don't know where the anger comes from, UncleRando... but this move strengthens Max & Erma's financially.. and keeps the operations in Columbus I was kidding around. I may have been to a Max & Erma's twice in my life. I typically try to avoid chain restaurants.
April 28, 200817 yr M&E created the casual dining niche (Fridays, Chili's, Applebee's) and then proceeded to be killed, Dr. Frankenstein-like, by its creation. For this reason, retaining the exisiting management team is a HUGE mistake. Keeping it based in Columbus, however, is not. If ever there were a chain restaurant town, it's Columbus.
April 28, 200817 yr ^ you should check out Louisville. Birthplace of KFC, Ralleys, Long John Silvers, Ollies Trolley....oh, wait....
April 28, 200817 yr Did M&E come before Fridays? I like their original location in Cols...that is sort of a fun place. M&E was fun too. I remember their Louisville location back in the 1970s when I was in high school..the M&E had these telephones in the booths, and you could call up different booths and tables in the place...like if you were with a bunch of guys and saw a table of girls you could call them up. I dont know when they did away with that, but it was different.
April 28, 200817 yr ^ you should check out Louisville. Birthplace of KFC, Ralleys, Long John Silvers, Ollies Trolley....oh, wait.... I thought the first KFC was founded in Corbin, KY sometime in the mid 30's? Can anyone verify that?
April 28, 200817 yr Did M&E come before Fridays? I like their original location in Cols...that is sort of a fun place. M&E was fun too. I remember their Louisville location back in the 1970s when I was in high school..the M&E had these telephones in the booths, and you could call up different booths and tables in the place...like if you were with a bunch of guys and saw a table of girls you could call them up. I dont know when they did away with that, but it was different. Essentially the original Max & Erma's was a singles bar with food. They had a more free-wheeling adult vibe, of which the table-to-table phones were a big part. TGIFridays was a contemporary of this early M&E, and as a counter-punch, M&E's had a theme night called So Happy It's Thursdays. Note the acronym.
April 28, 200817 yr ^ you should check out Louisville. Birthplace of KFC, Ralleys, Long John Silvers, Ollies Trolley....oh, wait.... KFC: Corbin, Kentucky LJS: Lexington, Kentucky Fazoli's: Lexington, Kentucky Checkers: Mobile, Albama Rally's: Louisville, Kentucky (merged with Checkers)
April 29, 200817 yr KFC as a fast food chain pretty much started in Louisville? I think the Corbin place was a stand-alone restaurant.
April 29, 200817 yr Began as Sanders Court & Café in Corbin in 1930, and began to travel around selling his chicken -- the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" outlet opened in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1952. Northern Ohio had Kenny Kings, which was KFC with a few variants (Pomeroy, Ohio had something similar to this that is/was part of KFC as well). The KFC franchise was sold in 1962 to PepsiCo, then placed in the sub Tricon Global Restaurants division and spun off as YUM! in Louisville.
April 29, 200817 yr Kingfish (one word). And too bad they gave up those faux riverboat restaurants. Those were a hoot (the kitchen was the "wharf boat", and the restuarant was the main boat, with a cocktail lounge on the "Texas Deck". Now that I think about it there were two other fish chains in Lou...Cape Codder (later the Hungry Pelican) and I think Boston Whaler or something like that. What was it with Louisville and deep fried sea food/hush puppys? It was a "Louisville thang" the way Chili is a "Cincy thang"
April 29, 200817 yr ^ you should check out Louisville. Birthplace of KFC, Ralleys, Long John Silvers, Ollies Trolley....oh, wait.... Definitely not what I would call "casual dining."
April 30, 200817 yr Even living DT I run out to the burbs every quarter or so to have a M&E burger. Heck's burgers blow away anything at M&E's (and are in the exact same price range). I highly recommend you heading over there instead...it'll save you driving/gas, be more pleasing to your taste buds, and save you the shame of eating at a chain restaurant. (OK, kidding on the last one, or am I...)
May 1, 200817 yr And I did try it, and Heck's was great, I had the Ohio City burger and it was awesome. They have a great asian noodle salad you can sub for fries if you don't like your side deep fried. So I guess screw Max and Ermas. How do you like that for loyalty?
August 22, 201014 yr Max & Erma’s new investors display turnaround legacy Business First of Columbus - by Dan Eaton Saturday, August 21, 2010 Many observers and franchisees believed all Max & Erma’s needed was an experienced restaurant hand to guide it through what have become choppy industry waters in recent years. It may be getting just that. The Columbus company’s new owner includes a high-profile restaurant executive and investor and an industry management veteran who already has restructured and led several dining chains out of their financial troubles. Denver-based American Blue Ribbon Holdings LLC, owner of the Village Inn and Bakers Square regional restaurant businesses, has been approved by a judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh to buy Max & Erma’s Restaurants Inc. for $28 million. The deal is expected to close Aug. 31. Full article: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/08/23/story3.html?b=1282536000^3831151
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