Following up on our January 15th post on Texas restaurant openings and closings (click here for that story), here is the update for February on the movers and shakers in Texas restaurants. If you’d like your restaurant to be considered in our next update, please let us know!

Chuck E. Cheese’s Enters Agreement To Be Acquired

First and foremost, Chuck E. Cheese’s has had big news. On January 16, the Dallas Morning News reported that Chuck E. Cheese’s announced that it would be purchased by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, LLC for $1.3 billion.  The sale of Chuck E. Cheese, which operates 577 restaurants, is for $54 per share, representing a 25% premium over the stock price before rumors of the sale started popping up.  Chuck E. Cheese has been around since the late 1970’s, but, according to the article, “recently began investing heavily in updating its image,” including a new “thinner, hipper Chuck E. and a new branding campaign by the Dallas-based Richards Group.”  Also, in an attempt to draw added attention, Chuck E. Cheese recently announced a new instant win contest with prizes totaling nearly $1 million, including a grand prize of $5000 of travel credit with Disney Cruise Lines.  You can find the full Dallas Morning News article here.

On January 27, the Dallas Morning News followed up on the above article, reporting that “at least three lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed challenging the proposed purchase of the parent of Chuck E. Cheese by Apollo Management LLC.”  According to the article, the shareholders allege that CEC Entertainment’s directors had breached their fiduciary duties to the stockholders for several reasons, including agreeing to “an inadequate tender price.” Since the January 16 announcement, CEC Entertainment’s shares have traded above the tender price.  For the full Dallas Morning News follow-up, click here.

Several Restaurant Openings and Closings

Aside from the mega news surrounding Chuck E. Cheese’s, here are the other notable openings and closings:

Recent or planned openings include:

•          Pier 247 has opened in the Bishop Arts District [more here]
•          Phil Romano is opening a sushi restaurant, Sushi Bayashi, in Trinity Groves [more here]
•          Frank Kent Motor Company is planning to open an ‘upscale wine bar and specialty retail  shop’ that will “double as an automotive drop-off service center” [more here]

Recent closings include:

•          Hacienda on Henderson Avenue  in Dallas [more here]
•          Mr. Max, a Dallas Japanese restaurant [more here]
•          Scotty’s Elm Street Saloon [more here]