Outspoken Applebee’s franchise proprietor Zane Tankel offered off the vast majority of his restaurant portfolio to a longtime rival in a $140 million deal.
The 83-year-old Tankel, who owned 23 Applebee’s Grill & Bar eateries within the New York Metropolis space, agreed to half with 21 of them within the take care of New Jersey-based Doherty Enterprises final week.
The corporate operates some 160 chain eating places, together with Applebee’s, Panera Bread and Chevys Contemporary Mex.
“I’m not retiring,” Tankel instructed The Publish on Monday. “I’ve a good amount of money and have the power to do one thing else.”
Tankel, who purchased his first Applebee’s 30 years in the past, will retain his flagship Instances Sq. restaurant on W. forty second St. and one on the Staten Island mall to resolve landlord disputes that arose throughout the pandemic.
Ed Doherty, 77, has identified Tankel for 3 a long time and now manages the Instances Sq. and Staten Island outposts by his family-run enterprise.
Final 12 months, Doherty approached his previous pal about buying Tankel’s Apple Metro enterprise, which employs some 1,100 hourly staff and managers. All of the employees are anticipated to be retained by Doherty, the executives stated.
“Zane [and his business partner Roy Raeburn] did a wonderful job,” Doherty, who’s chief government and chairman of the corporate instructed The Publish. “I’ve been pals with Zane since 1994, so it was pure that we began speaking.”
The acquisition makes Doherty Enterprises the fourth largest Applebee’s franchisee with 104 places. They’re situated within the New York metro space, Georgia and Florida.
Apple Metro operated 35 eateries at the start of the pandemic. It closed plenty of places however held on to its top-performing Instances Sq. eatery regardless of litigation with its landlord over non-payment of hire.
That eatery traditionally generated $25 million in gross sales, Tankel beforehand instructed The Publish.
Tankel has by no means been one to shrink back from criticizing the company mothership, Dine Manufacturers through the years, together with its ill-fated try and churn out wood-fired steaks to spice up flagging gross sales in 2017.
Dine Manufacturers’ high brass mandated that its franchisees add wood-fired grills to their kitchens to assist new menu objects, together with hand-cut steaks, bone-in pork chops, grilled salmon and rooster.
“It was an enormous expense and it has not been the paradigm shift it was anticipated to be,” Tankel griped to The Publish on the time.