Founding and growth

Fuddruckers was founded as Freddie Fuddruckers in 1979 by Philip J. Romano in San Antonio, Texas, at a location converted from an old bank to a restaurant.^[6] He started the chain because he thought that "the world needed a better hamburger."^[7] The Fuddruckers concept was to offer large hamburgers in which the meat was ground on-site and buns were baked on the premises and hamburgers and other dishes were offered with "lots of fresh sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce and vats of cheese sauce."^[8] In California, Fuddruckers competed at the high end of the fast-food market against chains such as Flakey Jake's, sometimes with head-to-head competitions in places such as Northridge, California.^[8] By 1988, there were 150 restaurants in the chain.^[7] Romano left the chain in 1988 to form Romano's Macaroni Grill.^[6] In an interview, Romano stated that "I just felt I had done all I could for the concept."^[7]

Fuddruckers was purchased in November 1998 by Michael Cannon, and later it was purchased by Magic Brands. The restaurant sometimes made controversial decisions; for example, in 2010 it began enforcing a no-weapons policy, which insisted that patrons should not carry "visible pistols" unless they were security officials.^[9] Laws in some U.S. states allow people to carry guns visibly in public. Fuddruckers management had been concerned that the presence of armed patrons might deter unarmed ones from visiting, but the move caused controversy among pro-gun advocates who threatened to retaliate with boycotts of Fuddruckers restaurants.^[9]

In August 2014, Fuddruckers opened the first of its new stores called Fuddruckers Deluxe in Newport News, Virginia, a full-service sit down restaurant serving traditional and new menu items, with a wait staff, full bar and multiple TVs, although it does not offer different size burgers or a "produce and fixings bar" like its traditional restaurants. As of 2018, the restaurant has been closed.

One of three Fuddruckers in Colorado that closed in 2010

Bankruptcy and ownership changes

The 2008 financial crisis hit the restaurant industry hard, including Fuddruckers. On April 22, 2010, the parent of Fuddruckers, Austin-based Magic Brands LLC, announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[10] It originally planned to sell most of its assets, including Fuddruckers and the Koo Koo Roo brand eateries, to the Tavistock Group for $40 million.^[9][11] On the same day, the firm announced that 24 Fuddruckers restaurants would be closed, several of them in the metro Washington, D.C. area.

On June 18, 2010, Tavistock was outbid by Luby's for Fuddruckers' assets at auction, with a $61 million winning bid.^[12][13] A second estimate was that the sale amount was for $63.45 million.^[14] Luby's acquisition of Fuddruckers and Koo Koo Roo was finalized in 2010. During 2011, there were controversies with previous franchise owners regarding the use of the Fuddruckers brand name.^[15]

Luby's closure and dissolution

On June 3, 2020, Luby's Board of Directors announced plans to sell all its operating divisions and assets, including real estate assets.^[16] This decision was influenced in part by circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Net proceeds from transactions will benefit Luby's stockholders. The company did not have a definitive timeline for future transactions, but expected to eventually wind down remaining operations.

On September 8, 2020, Luby's further announced it has adopted a plan to liquidate all of its existing assets, as opposed to operating in the current form or merely selling off divisions.^[17][18]

As of September 11, 2020, there were 80 Luby's and Fuddruckers still in operation.^[19]

99% of Luby's stockholders voted for dissolution in November 2020.^[20] Luby's planned to close all locations by August 2021.^[21]

Sale to affiliate of Nicholas Perkins

On June 17, 2021, Luby's announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell the Fuddruckers franchise business operations to Black Titan Franchise Systems LLC, an affiliate of Nicholas Perkins.^[22] As a result, the remaining Fuddruckers locations have remained open past the previously planned closure date of August 2021.^[23]

Franchise model

While some Fuddruckers restaurants are company-owned, the majority are owned by individual franchisees.^[9]

In 2010, there were 135 franchisee-owned Fuddruckers around the United States.^[9] In 2011, Fuddruckers had 200 restaurants throughout North America, of which two-thirds were owned by small business owners and 59 were company-operated locations.^[28] By the end of 2015, Fuddruckers had 188 locations, with 35 outside the US.^[29]

Headquarters

The firm has moved its headquarters location several times. Currently, the headquarters is the near northwest district of Houston, Texas.^[30] It has been there since the acquisition by Luby's in 2010. From 2005 to 2010, Fuddruckers was headquartered in southwest Austin, Texas;^[31] before that, in North Andover, Massachusetts, before that at Cherry Hill Park in Beverly, Massachusetts, before that in One Corporate Place in Danvers, Massachusetts;^[32] before that, in Lakeside Office Park in Wakefield, Massachusetts.^[33][34] When it shifted headquarters from the Boston area to Austin in 2005, it spent $1 million and laid off 30 employees to operate more efficiently, according to chief financial officer Matt Pannek.^[35] Within six weeks of the move, the company hired 30 new employees for the Austin headquarters. By September 2005 the company employed 80 people in 16,000 square feet (1,500 m²) of space in two temporary offices in the Monterey Oaks Corporate Park in southwest Austin. By December 2005 the company planned to move into about 16,000-17,000 square feet (1,500-1,600 m²) of space in an adjacent building and turn one of the original Austin facilities into a training center and test kitchen. Pannek said that the central location of the headquarters allows the company to more easily communicate with its franchisees across the United States.^[35]

Locations

Fuddruckers expanded outside of the United States. There were locations in Canada in the mid-1980s, including Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan. Their first Australian store opening in Brisbane's Eagle Street Pier shopping centre in November 1993, followed by another store in the Logan Hyperdome south of Brisbane in August 1994 (which closed in August 1995, having never made a profit), and a store opening at the Macquarie shopping centre at North Ryde in Sydney in September 1994, all operated under franchise by Butcher Baker Goodtimes Maker until late 1996 when the franchisee went bankrupt and Fuddruckers left the country.^[36][37]

Fuddruckers opened their first Middle Eastern location opening in May 1994 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by Arabian Food Supplies. Fuddruckers opened restaurants in Argentina in 1988; later, however, sales fell and Fuddruckers left the country.^[38] In 2013, Fuddruckers opened its first restaurant in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which later closed. They also opened restaurants in Santiago, Chile and Bogotá, Colombia, all of which have since been closed.

In 2014, Fuddruckers partnered with Italian-based franchisee Vinum et Alia to open 10 restaurants across Italy, Poland, and Switzerland.^[39] Their first restaurant opened in Varese (Lombardy).^[40] They later added locations in Legnano and Casnate con Bernate, Italy, as well as Warsaw, Poland. However, as of 2019, this franchisee was no longer active and all European locations had been shut down.

As of June 2019, Fuddruckers had 156 locations across the United States and globally. Through their franchise partners, they operate 8 restaurants internationally in 4 countries. One each in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, two in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, one in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and three in Panama City, Panama. Additionally, 33 licensed locations are currently operating throughout certain countries in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. These countries include: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.