Fiesta Restaurant Group facts for kids

Fiesta Restaurant Group is an American company that owns and operates restaurants. Its main brand is Pollo Tropical, which has many locations, mostly in Florida. The company's main office is in Dallas, Texas.

Fiesta Restaurant Group started in 2012. It was created when another company, Carrols Restaurant Group, decided to separate its different restaurant businesses. Fiesta Restaurant Group's shares were traded on the NASDAQ stock market until October 2023. At that time, an investment company called Garnett Station Partners bought it, and it became a private company under its subsidiary, Authentic Restaurant Brands. In 2019, Fiesta had over 10,000 employees.

How Fiesta Restaurant Group Started

Becoming an Independent Company

In 2011, Carrols Restaurant Corp. decided to split its restaurant businesses into two separate public companies. One part would focus on its Burger King restaurants. The other part, which included its Hispanic-themed restaurants, became Fiesta Restaurant Group. This new company was a subsidiary of Carrols Restaurant Corp.

Tim Taft was chosen as the CEO of Fiesta Restaurant Group in August 2011. By the end of 2011, the separation of the brands was complete. Fiesta Restaurant Group's income grew by 8.2 percent that year.

Going Public and Growing

In April 2012, Carrols Restaurant Corp. agreed to let Fiesta Restaurant Group become its own independent company. Fiesta would take with it the restaurant brands Taco Cabana and Pollo Tropical. On May 8, 2012, Fiesta Restaurant Group officially became a public company. Its shares began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol FRGI.

By 2014, Fiesta Restaurant Group still owned Taco Cabana. As of early 2016, the company had 162 Taco Cabana restaurants that it owned directly. There were also six Taco Cabana restaurants operated by other companies under a franchise agreement.

Changes and Sales Over Time

Plans to Separate Brands

In February 2016, Fiesta announced a plan to split its two main brands, Taco Cabana and Pollo Tropical, into two separate companies. The idea was to give all of Taco Cabana's shares to Fiesta's shareholders. Fiesta itself would then be renamed Pollo Tropical. However, this plan to separate the two brands was stopped in September 2016. At that time, Fiesta was planning to open up to 10 new Taco Cabana restaurants in Texas.

Challenges and Changes

In 2017, Fiesta Restaurant Group saw a decrease in sales during the second part of the year. The company believed this was because they were doing less advertising. By July 2017, Fiesta had 176 Taco Cabana stores. On January 14, 2020, Fiesta Restaurant Group announced that it would close 19 Taco Cabana restaurants in Texas right away. The company said this was to "eliminate all stores with significant losses."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fiesta received a loan from the government's Paycheck Protection Program. This program was meant to help small businesses. However, Fiesta is a larger company, and some people questioned why they received the loan. About a week later, the company decided to return the money.

Selling Taco Cabana

In July 2021, Fiesta Restaurant Group announced a big change. They agreed to sell all of Taco Cabana Inc. to a company called Yadav Enterprises. The sale was for $85 million. Fiesta used this money to pay off about $74.6 million of its own loans. This meant that Fiesta Restaurant Group would now focus mainly on its Pollo Tropical brand.

Where Fiesta Restaurant Group is Located

The company's main office is in San Antonio, Texas. It is located in a building on Tesoro Drive.