He bought Luby's Fuddruckers business. What's his plan for reviving the brand?

As the pandemic took hold and started rocking Luby’s already shaky financial footing, Nicholas Perkins’ interest was piqued. He’d always been a fan of its Fuddruckers hamburger chain and wanted to know what would become of the brand he loved so much. He reached out to Chris Pappas, who was then Luby’s CEO, and expressed interest in buying it. That was the first step in what Perkins described as a “robust and competitive” bidding process that spanned nearly a year and involved more than 100 companies. It resulted in an agreement reached last month for Perkins’ Black Titan Franchise Systems to buy the business in a deal valued at $18.5 million.

When the deal closes, expected sometime in late September, Perkins, who already operates several of the burger restaurants as a franchisee, will control 92 Fuddruckers, including 13 company-owned stores and the franchise revenue from 79 locations. He will also be able to expand the the chain’s footprint by franchising more locations. The deal with Perkins was part of Luby’s liquidation effort, which came after shareholders voted overwhelmingly in November in favor of a plan to dissolve the business, allowing the company to sell off assets and distribute proceeds among investors. (In a separate deal, it agreed last month to sell the Luby’s brand and 32 of its Texas restaurants to Calvin Gin, a member of the family that founded Chicago-based catering business Flying Food Group.) In a statement, Pappas said Fuddruckers “will be in great hands” under Perkins’ leadership. “Nicholas knows everything about his business, from the backdoor of the kitchen to the restaurant’s front door.” For Perkins, who is also a Church’s Chicken franchisee and owner of food contract services company Perkins Management Services, nostalgia for the Fuddruckers brand was the initial lure. He said he grew up eating Fuddruckers’ burgers and recalled fondly the higher-grade beef and fresh-baked buns. Then, he said, there was opportunity — there’s still room in the market for a legacy brand he credits with creating the gourmet hamburger sector.