Food & Beverage

Investment group buys Lee's Famous Recipe

Artemis Lane Partners-backed business has purchased Lee's Famous Recipe.

Photo: Lee's Famous Recipe via Twitter.

June 24, 2021

In a deal structured to grow Lee's Famous Recipe, its parent company, Famous Recipe Group LLC, is selling it to LFR Chicken LLC — new entity backed by Artemis Lane Partners. Neither party disclosed the sale amount.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead the Lee's brand over the past 18 years, and I am pleased to hand the reins over to the team at Artemis Lane that plans to scale the brand to new heights," Lee's CEO Chuck Cooper said in the release.

Lee's, which is based in Florida and has 130 locations in 12 U.S. states, has set record sales in 40 out of the last 44 quarters with more than half of its stores reporting record monthly sales to date. Last year's sales grew 12% over 2019, and year-to-date 2021 sales are up 16% over 2020, the company said.

Cooper made the decision to sell based on the group's plans to provide capital for growth and its vision for the brand. He said today's quick service model requires more investment, enhanced data collection and more efficient processes to support current franchisees, operators and future company-owned locations.

"We fell in love with Lee's from the second we met Chuck, tried the product and started learning about the brand and the strong heritage franchisees, owners, operators, and team members helped build," said Ryan Weaver, a partner at Artremis, who will also serve as Lee's CEO. "Our ultimate goal is to grow Lee's to be a billion-dollar brand and introduce it to a lot more cities and states across the country — we really think the sky is the limit for Lee's/

The new ownership group said it will provide a "solid exit strategy" opportunity for maturing restaurant owners.