User:Jeffery Gentry/sandbox/Del Frisco's Restaurant Group

Del Frisco's Restaurant Group (nasdaq: DFRG) is an American multi-brand operator of contemporary upscale restaurants with steakhouse roots. The first Del Frisco's restaurant opened in 1981, the Del Frisco's Restaurant Group was formed in 1993, and became a public company in 2012. Del Frisco's Restaurant Group (DFRG) currently operates Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Del Frisco's Grille, Barcelona Wine Bar, and bartaco with over 84 locations across the United States as of July 2018. The corporate offices are located in Irving, Texas and, for Del Frisco's Emerging Brands, in South Norwalk, Connecticut.

Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, introduced in Dallas, Texas in 1995, is the traditional upscale steakhouse flagship brand featuring steak, chops, seafood, and extensive wine lists in urban settings targeting "destination diners". Del Frisco's Grille targets a broader urban and affluent neighborhood clientele with smaller restaurants, more diverse menus, and less expensive entrée options. The Barteca Restaurant Group, acquired in 2018, operates Barcelona Wine Bar and bartaco. Barcelona Wine Bar serves tapas specialties from Spain and the Mediterranean accompanied by an award-winning wine list. bartaco is a laid back street food concept based on the beach culture of Uruguay, Brazil, and southern California.

Timeline

 * 1981 - First Del Frisco's opens in Louisville, Kentucky
 * 1982 - Del Frisco's opens in New Orleans, Louisiana
 * 1985 - Closed Del Frisco's Steakhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana
 * 1985 - Opened Del Frisco's in Dallas, Texas
 * 1990 - Del Frisco's Steakhouse opens in Dallas, Texas
 * 1993 - Del Frisco's Restaurant Group formed with two Dallas locations
 * 1994 - Two Dallas locations consolidate to new Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse location in north Dallas
 * 1995 - Purchased by Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc.
 * 1995 - Barteca Restaurant Group founded
 * 1996 - Second Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse opens in Fort Worth, Texas
 * 1997 - Third Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse opens in Denver, Colorado
 * 2006 - With eight locations, part of Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon purchase by unaffiliated private equity firm Lone Star Funds, LP
 * 2011 - Del Frisco's Grille introduced
 * 2012 - With 32 locations, Del Frisco's Restaurant Group spun off in an initial public offering (IPO)
 * 2018 - Acquisition of Barteca Restaurant Group
 * 2018 - Sold Sullivan's Steakhouse to Romano's Macaroni Grill

Growth
Del Frisco's Restaurant Group consisted of a single Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in Dallas, Texas when acquired by Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon, Inc. in 1995 for US$23 million. A second location in Fort Worth, Texas opened in 1996 in a historically significant 1890 building that originally housed a bathhouse near the Fort Worth Stockyards. The company opened the first Sullivan's Steakhouse in Austin, Texas in the same year, creating a more contemporary steakhouse concept featuring live music, an open kitchen, and a lower price point.

Against a backdrop of corporate power struggle at Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse expanded into Denver, New York City, and Las Vegas by the end of 2000. After Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon was purchased by Lone Star Funds in 2006, growth continued with additional Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse locations opened in Charlotte, Houston, Philadelphia, and Boston between 2007 and 2011. Taking advantage of the Del Frisco's brand, Del Frisco's Grille was introduced in 2011, featuring a smaller size, lower build out cost, and more diverse menu. The first Del Frisco's Grille opened at Rockefeller Center in New York, New York in August 2011, followed by three more in Dallas, Phoenix, and Washington, DC by mid-2012 prior to the IPO.

Lone Star Funds spun off Del Frisco's Restaurant Group in a 2012 IPO valued at US$75.40M, including 9 Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouses, 4 Del Frisco's Grilles, and 19 Sullivan's Steakhouses. As an independent, public company, growth accelerated in the coming years. Over the five-year period ending with 2017, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse locations grew to 13, but most of the growth in both locations and revenue was due to expansion of Del Frisco's Grille to 24 locations. During the same period, Sullivan's Steakhouse locations dropped to 16. Del Frisco's Restaurant Group operated 53 locations across the three restaurant concepts at the end of 2017. Market capitalization at the end of 2017 was US$327.84M.

Recent Operations
In June 2018, Del Frisco's Restaurant Group acquired Barteca Restaurant Group for US$325m cash, diversifying their portfolio beyond the traditional steakhouse platform with 15 Barcelona Wine Bar locations and 16 bartaco locations. While both groups have strong wine lists and target upscale clientele, visitors tend to be quite different. Seasonal swings in business are complementary, with Barteca strength in the spring and summer and Del Frisco's strength in autumn and winter. In the following months, Del Frisco's Restaurant group took two significant cash raising actions intended to pay down debt related to the Barteca acquisition. First, Del Frisco's executed a secondary offering of 11,250,000 common shares to raise ~US$90m. Second, the 14-unit Sullivan's Steakhouse was sold to Romano's Macaroni Grill for ~US$32m, simultaneously announcing the intention to explore opportunities to franchise Del Frisco's outside the United States.

Restaurant Concepts
Del Frisco's Restaurant Group operates restaurants based on four restaurant concepts.

The namesake Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse is the original upscale steakhouse introduced in 1995. It's defined by its menu, which includes USDA Prime grade, wet-aged steaks hand-cut at the time of order and a range of other high-quality offerings, including prime lamb, fresh seafood, and signature side dishes and desserts. It is also distinguished by its “swarming service,” whereby customers are served simultaneously by multiple servers. Each restaurant has a sommelier to guide diners through an extensive, award-winning wine list and bartenders specialize in hand-shaken martinis and crafted cocktails. Del Frisco’s restaurants target customers seeking a full-service, fine dining steakhouse experience. Locations feature décor and and architectural features with both contemporary and classic designs.

Introduced in 2011, Del Frisco's Grille takes advantage of the positioning of the Del Frisco’s brand to provide greater potential for expansion due to its smaller size, lower build out cost, and more diverse menu. The Grille’s menu is designed to appeal more broadly to both business and casual diners and features a variety of Del Frisco’s prime aged steaks, top selling signature menu items, and a broad wine selection. Del Frisco's Grille also offers an assortment of relatively less expensive entrées. The concept is designed to appeal to wider range of customers seeking a less formal dining experience.

Del Frisco's Emerging Brands, the former Barteca Restaurant Group, operates Barcelona Wine Bar and bartaco restaurants. Barcelona Wine Bar is an upscale casual concept serving tapas specialties from Spain and the Mediterranean accompanied by an award-winning wine list. Each local chef creates about a third of the menu and each location has a unique design to generate an independent vibe. bartaco a laid-back approach with a upscale street food menu based on the beach culture of Brazil, Uruguay, and Southern California. The relaxed vibe is reinforced by woven basket chandeliers, whitewashed woods, bar tops crafted with reclaimed wood, bright blue-and-white-striped cushions, and other tranquil decor.

For over 20 years, Sullivan's Steakhouse co-existed under the same corporate umbrella with Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse as a steakhouse experience at a more accessible price point, an open kitchen, live music, and a bar area designed to be a center for social gathering and entertainment. Sullivan's Steakhouse was sold to Romano's Macaroni Grill in 2018 for ~US$32M.

Recognition
Del Frisco's Restaurant Group has been publicly recognized for their restaurants and business success:


 * #89 - America's Best Small Companies, 2013
 * #3 - Top 100 Place to Work in D-FW, Midsize Company 2014
 * Future 50, 2015 for Barcelona Wine Bar
 * 63 Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards in 2017
 * First restaurant group to receive a Wine Spectator Grand Award, in 2017, by the New York location of Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse

Community Involvement
The company is engaged in a number of efforts to help communities where they do business and veterans of the US military. DFRG donated 20% of sales from all 53 Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Del Frisco's Grille, and Sullivan's Steakhouse for a five-day period in 2017, totaling $805,000 for the Houston Food Bank to aid in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Employees affected by the hurricane received addition relief through the DRFG FEED Employee Support Fund, through which employees make donations to help fellow employees, and these donation were matched 100% by the company. Since 2013, the company has sponsored the Del Frisco's 5K in Southlake, Texas and Dallas, Texas benefiting CitySquare, an organization that provides services to Dallas residents living in poverty. Starting in 2018, DFRG entered into a partnership to serve coffee from |Veteran Roasters Cup O’ Joe, a company founded to help end homelessness and chronic unemployment in the US military veteran community.