Local
Jack Brown’s expands under new ownership, with seven restaurants in Tennessee
Florida-based Green Shoot Brands has acquired all 22 Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint locations across seven states. The chain’s founders and president will continue running the company, while former Nashville operator Chenault Sanders has sold his stake.
Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint has a new owner, as Florida-based Green Shoot Brands takes over the chain’s 22 restaurants across the Southeast, including seven in Tennessee.
The locations are spread across Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Green Shoot said it plans to continue expanding the brand and that “the burger, the beer and the feel won’t change.” The company did not disclose financial terms.
In Tennessee, Jack Brown’s has restaurants in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Memphis, Clarksville and Chattanooga. The concept pairs smash burgers and fries with beer, including craft selections from local breweries. Nashville menu offerings include burgers such as the Elvis-inspired combination of peanut butter, bacon, American cheese and Duke’s mayonnaise.
Chenault Sanders, a local businessman and founder and CEO of Blackbird Media, operated the Nashville locations and sold his shares in the company. An original investor, Sanders helped bring Jack Brown’s to Nashville. He still owns the Germantown property where the chain opened its first Tennessee restaurant in 2015; the property is valued at $2.9 million.
Jack Brown’s was founded in 2009 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, by childhood friends Mike Sabin and Aaron Ludwig. Sabin, Ludwig and company President Jason Owenby will continue to run the business under the new ownership, Green Shoot said.
The acquisition is Green Shoot’s first entry into Tennessee. Founded in 2019, the investment firm says its portfolio includes 410 restaurants and shops in 26 states and Washington, D.C., with brands including Auntie Anne’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Little Caesars.