Bobby’s Burger Palace, a fast-casual restaurant chain created by Food Network star Bobby Flay, announced on Monday plans to raise $15 million by reaching out to everyday investors through a simplified public offering process.
Created in 2008, Bobby’s Burger Palace has sought to carve out a niche in the hugely competitive burger business, with rivals ranging from the fast-food giants to fast-growing chains such as Shake Shack, Five Guys and Smashburger. Bobby’s Burger Palace is decidedly smaller — it counts just 17 locations, mainly on the East Coast, after nearly a decade in business — but the company said it is ready to make a bolder move, using money from its public offering to expand not just in the United States but internationally.
For that, the company plans to offer its shares under Regulation A+, Title IV of the American JOBS Act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and rolled out in 2015, that allows companies seeking to raise between $3 million and $50 million the chance of wooing a broader group of investors.
“While a traditional public offering is generally reserved for large institutional investors and only the clients of the investment bank, we are taking advantage of new regulations to level the playing field for all investors to participate concurrently in our IPO,” Laurence Kretchmer, managing partner of Bobby’s Burger Place, said in a statement.
