Neal Aronson has spent the past decade buying iconic brands like Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Jimmy John’s. This spring, when restaurants across America were struggling to survive or closing down, business was booming for Neal Aronson’s Sonic. The retro chain of car-hop joints he acquired through Roark Capital in 2018 was perfect for the pandemic. But Paul Brown, CEO of Inspire Brands, the Roark holding company that owns Sonic, wasn’t satisfied. Roark’s restaurant investments had system-wide sales of more than $24 billion last year, according to food industry research firm Technomic.

Source: Forbes July 27, 2020 10:30 UTC