Restaurants & Hospitality Acquisitions in Georgia

Wedgewood Weddings & Events has acquired five Atlanta-area venues — Primrose Cottage (Roswell), Flint Hill (Norcross), The Atrium (Norcross), Vinewood Stables (Newnan) and Natalie House (Lawrenceville) — from Magic Moments and is integrating the A Divine Event design studio into its model. The deal expands Wedgewood’s portfolio to more than 80 venues across nine states and brings local design and catering capabilities into its all-inclusive wedding venue offering.

Breakwater, through an affiliate, partnered with BR Investments to acquire the 175-room Ramada Hotel in downtown Augusta, Georgia. The buyers plan a comprehensive renovation and rebrand into a premium soft-branded hotel, led by The Gettys Group (branding/interior) and Rabun Architects (architecture).

Arcis Golf has acquired three nationally recognized Atlanta-area clubs — The Country Club of the South (Johns Creek), The Manor Golf & Country Club (Alpharetta), and White Columns Country Club (Milton) — from Invited. The transactions closed June 2025 and Arcis plans significant capital investments and assumes operations immediately, expanding its Atlanta footprint and portfolio of private, resort and daily-fee clubs.

Jerry Pugh, the largest Workout Anytime franchisee, acquired a majority stake in the 200-unit Workout Anytime brand from founders Steve Strickland and John Quattrocchi and became CEO. The deal was financed with minority investments from private equity firms Skyline Global Partners and Peninsula Capital Partners, plus minority stakes held by Peter Stipher (Private Capital Advisors) and Workout Anytime EVP Randy Trotter; Strickland retained a minority interest and will help with the transition.

Hoffmann Family of Companies has acquired Atlanta Party Rentals, a premium event rental provider serving greater Atlanta. VRA Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Atlanta Party Rentals; terms were not disclosed. The acquisition expands Hoffmann's Hospitality & Entertainment vertical and provides Atlanta Party Rentals with additional resources for growth and collaboration.

Nautic Partners will acquire Davidson Hospitality Group from an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, in partnership with Davidson's management team. Davidson, a 50-year-old third-party hospitality management company with roughly $2 billion in revenue under management and 86 hotels, will be positioned for further growth under Nautic's ownership.

KBP Brands has acquired 85 SONIC restaurants across six states (Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia), expanding its portfolio to more than 1,000 restaurants and increasing annual revenue to over $1.5 billion. The transaction broadens KBP's footprint in the southeastern United States and deepens its relationship with SONIC's owner, Inspire Brands; Mark Everett will lead operations for the new SONIC locations.

South Street Partners and TPG Real Estate formed a joint venture to acquire The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort on St. Simons Island from MMI Hospitality Group and the Sturdivant family. The investors plan a comprehensive renovation and repositioning of the 142-key beachfront resort and golf club to elevate amenities and drive growth in the supply-constrained Golden Isles market.

Private equity funds managed by Blackstone have completed the acquisition of Tropical Smoothie Cafe from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a fast-casual franchisor headquartered in Atlanta with more than 1,400 locations nationwide, will partner with Blackstone to accelerate expansion, menu innovation and digital guest experience enhancements.

Arcis Golf has acquired Champions Retreat Golf Club, a 27-hole private club near Augusta, Georgia; the transaction closed Oct. 12, 2023 and Arcis assumed operations on Oct. 13. The property, previously owned by Bill Forrest, hosts the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and expands Arcis Golf’s portfolio into Georgia as it grows its collection of private, resort and daily-fee clubs.

Balance Point Capital provided a follow-on equity investment in ABTB Mid-Atlantic Holding Company, LLC to support the acquisition of 39 Taco Bell restaurants in the Greater Atlanta metro. The stores will be operated by experienced QSR operator SWN LLC (Southpaw), which currently runs 180+ Taco Bell and Dunkin' locations and partners with Balance Point to expand its footprint.

Bruin Capital has taken a majority interest in Proof of the Pudding, an Atlanta-headquartered catering, food service and event management company. Proof’s CEO Adam Noyes and the leadership team will continue to run the business with meaningful ownership as Bruin looks to scale premium hospitality and venue food-service capabilities across its sports and entertainment portfolio.

SPB Hospitality has completed a merger with Krystal Restaurants, adding nearly 300 quick-service locations and roughly 3,500 employees to SPB's portfolio. The move expands SPB's multi-brand restaurant platform (which is owned by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group) and aims to leverage shared services and best practices across brands.

Level 5 Capital Partners has committed $20 million of growth capital to GoDog to fund the rollout of a franchising platform and accelerate the pet services company's national expansion. Level 5 will also build an affiliated franchisee platform (L5 Pups) and serve as an anchor franchise partner as GoDog scales beyond its existing locations in the Southeastern United States.

Banyan Investment Group (BIG) acquired the 114-suite Homewood Suites by Hilton Atlanta/Perimeter Center in Sandy Springs, Georgia, marking the first purchase by its Banyan Lodging Enhanced Value Fund (BLEV). The acquisition is a value-add play for the fund—Banyan cited below-replacement cost purchase, strong cash flow and multiple demand drivers as the rationale.

Cedartown Chicken, LLC, an operating subsidiary of Cedartown Foods, signed a franchisee agreement with Bojangles to acquire seven existing Bojangles restaurants in western Georgia from Robinson Holdings and to develop 11 additional restaurants in the region. Cedartown has secured an equity investment from affiliates of Acta Capital, LLC to support the acquisition and new-unit development as it grows the Bojangles footprint in Georgia and parts of Alabama.

High Bluff Capital Partners, supported by investment funds managed by FS Investments, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Church's Chicken from private equity firm FFL Partners. The buyers plan to leverage High Bluff's REGO Restaurant Group platform and FS Investments' structured capital to drive domestic and international expansion of the quick-service chicken chain.

Investment funds managed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division will acquire a significant stake in Zaxby's Operating Company L.P., providing long-term capital to support accelerated growth and expansion into new sales channels. The partnership will help Zaxby's scale nationally from its base of more than 900 restaurants (17 states), and the deal was expected to close by year-end 2020.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) partnered with Tropical Smoothie Cafe's management team to acquire Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a leading franchisor of fast-casual cafes with over 870 units across 44 states. The company will continue to be led by CEO Charles Watson and the existing executive team as LLCP works with management to grow unit count, improve franchisee unit economics and expand system-wide sales; debt financing was provided by Golub Capital.

Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority interest in SSRG Holdings, LLC (Chicken Salad Chick) from Eagle Merchant Partners. The fast-casual chain — led by CEO Scott Deviney and operating 137 locations across 16 states as of the announcement — will continue to pursue growth and geographic expansion; transaction terms were not disclosed.