TravelCenters Sells Quaker Steak & Lube for $5M
WESTLAKE, Ohio – TravelCenters of America has announced the sale of all Quaker Steak & Lube restaurants for $5 million to an undisclosed buyer.
The move was announced during TravelCenters’ quarterly earnings call Feb. 26 by CEO Jonathan Pertchik. The sale is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
“In evaluating our overall restaurant segment, we reached the conclusion that our stand-alone restaurant business, which includes 42 locations, primarily branded as Quaker Steak & Lube, did not strategically fit within our long-term goals for the company,” he said during the call.
The sale comes as TravelCenters reported that restaurant revenue dropped to $75.2 million in the fourth quarter, a 30% drop from the same period of 2019. The decline is primarily attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and state-ordered safety measures that limited in-person dining.
Overall, TravelCenters reported 1% decrease in full-year revenue, adding that if full service restaurants were excluded, revenue increased 7.1%.
TravelCenters purchased Quaker Steak in 2016 for $25 million after the restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The sale included 10 Quaker Steak restaurants that would be operated TA Restaurant Group and 40 operated by franchisees.
Quaker Steak was founded in Sharon, Pa., in 1974 by George Warren and Gary Meszaros.
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