GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The owner of Stan’s Tacos, Morning Belle and hundreds of other restaurants has sold one of its dining concepts.
Grand Rapids-based Meritage Hospitality Group announced Thursday it closed on the deal to sell its Twisted Rooster concept for half a million dollars. The company told News 8 the buyer is a long-term manager at Meritage.
“We are very excited about creating this opportunity for him and are confident he will carry the brand flag very well,” Meritage Hospitality Group CEO Robert Schermer Jr. stated.
Meritage says it’s selling the concept entirely, which means a new owner for the two Twisted Rooster restaurants in the metro Detroit area of Belleville and Chesterfield Township.
Meritage closed its lone Twisted Rooster restaurant in Grand Rapids Township in 2019, transforming the space at 1600 East Beltline Ave. NE into its first Morning Belle Brunch Bistro.
Meritage opened a second Morning Belle on Bridge Street less than a year later in June 2020. The company told News 8 Thursday it plans to add more Morning Belle locations and will release information about the specific restaurant sites this summer.
Meritage previously announced plans to invest $70 million in opening 35 Morning Belle restaurants by the end of 2025.
Meritage also plans to invest about $200 million in building and opening 25 more Wendy’s restaurants as well as its newest Taco John’s franchise line. The company already opened four new Wendy’s this year and is on track to open a record number of the restaurants in 2022, according to Schermer.
Meritage announced last month that it signed an exclusive 50-store development agreement with Taco John’s that includes additional exclusive rights to develop more than 200 restaurants.
Meritage said Thursday the first Taco John’s will open in West Michigan this fall. The company expects to release additional details about Taco John’s locations at the end of April.
Meritage currently operates 343 restaurants in 16 states, employing approximately 11,000 people altogether.
