SPB Hospitality has sold Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, ChopHouse & Brewery, Ragtime Tavern and Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery to Kelly Companies of Southern California. The transaction of this sale includes 16 restaurants, with flagship and airport locations included.
Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch are familiar names in the brewing industry having been in business for many years despite various ownership changes. The first Rock Bottom location opened in Denver, Colorado in 1991 and the first Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant was opened in Palo Alto, California in 1988.
The Houston-based SPB Hospitality said that the sale will allow the company to focus on its remaining restaurant brands, which include Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, J. Alexander’s, Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill, Amada Vino + Tapas, and Village Whiskey.
“These breweries and specialty restaurants we’re transitioning to Kelly Companies have a rich heritage, and we are confident their team will build on this success and continue serving their communities with excellence,” SPB Hospitality CEO Josh Kern said in a statement.
Kelly’s has a diverse lineup of 20 chain restaurant locations, including Claim Jumper Steakhouse & Bar, Lucky Bastard Saloon, and Whiskey River Saloon.
CraftWorks Holdings, which owned the Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant and Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery chain was purchased out of bankruptcy by SPB in 2020.