David Gobbles up Goliath: Rudy’s and Mighty Fine Sold to Local Restaurant Group

When it comes to a cash-flowing giants like the Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q and Mighty Fine Burgers, Fries & Shakes, they are usually purchased by some huge national entity like Darden Foods (which purchased Eddie C’s several years ago). That’s because the cost is usually prohibitive for a somewhat smaller local player.

So I must admit that the transaction involving Rudy’s et al being sold to the Austin owners of Tony C’s and The League Kitchen & Tavern was a bit surprising.

But it’s somewhat symbolic that such an exceptionally well-run company (parent company K&N Management has won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for excellence in a restaurant operation) has been purchased by Tc4 & Co. Hospitality, an arguably efficient group. Tony Ciola and Creed Ford IV come from families that have been highly invested in the restaurant biz and that has obviously been very helpful to them

Often times when a restaurant group is taken over, management styles and philosophies will change, sometimes leading to a fall off in customer support. But I don’t see that happening with this sale.

So kudos to Ken Schiller and Brian Nolan (of K&N) whose journey of excellence began in 1993 and has continued unabated. Best of luck as well to Tony, Creed, and their investors. With all the grim news on the Austin restaurant scene lately, this is finally an encouraging story!