RETAIL & RESTAURANT GROWTH CAPITAL, L.P. PROVIDES FINANCING FOR FOODSTAR RESTAURANT GROUP, INC.
DALLAS - AUGUST 26, 1997 -- Retail & Restaurant Growth Capital, L.P., ("RRGC"), a Federal Licensee under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, announced today that it has made a $1 million commitment to FoodStar Restaurant Group, Inc. ("FoodStar"), a privately held upscale restaurant company operating two prominent Dallas-based restaurant concepts, Mediterraneo and Toscana. Hunt Capital Group, LLC joined RRGC and made an additional equity commitment. Hunt Capital Group, LLC is the institutional venture capital operation of the Lamar Hunt family.
FoodStar was founded by President/CEO Michael Caolo, Jr. as an entree into the resurging "finer-dining" restaurant segment. Caolo's operating partners, Franco Bertolasi and Executive Chef David Holben, are highly successful restaurateurs, also known for the creation of The Riviera, a nationally recognized five-star restaurant, and Dallas landmark since 1983.
The majority of FoodStar's funding will be used to open new restaurants in Dallas and future cities. Mediterraneo and Toscana are recognized in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as celebrated dining establishments.
Also under the agreement, RRGC general partner Joseph L. Harberg has been named to the board of directors of FoodStar Restaurant Group, Inc. Mr. Harberg brings more than twelve years of retail and restaurant consulting and operating experience to this board appointment. Mr. Harberg is a partner in The Harberg Masinter Company, a national real estate consulting and tenant representation firm serving such retail and restaurant clients as Restoration Hardware, Canyon Cafe, Dick's Last Resort, Circuit City, Eddie Bauer and Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salons.
RRGC provides debt capital and strategic counsel to emerging retail and restaurant business that have exhibited a potential for accelerated growth and expansion. Dallas-based RRGC is the first firm of its kind to specialize in providing debt securities to the retail and food-service industries, both of which have traditionally had limited access to debt and equity markets. RRGC's portfolio companies, other than FoodStar, include The Colorado Pen Company, Quizno's Classic Subs and Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salons.