Hawaiian Fast-Casual Nets New Owners

On Oct. 22, it was announced that Mo’ Bettahs has been acquired by the private equity firms Blue Marlin Partners and Trive Capital, the latter of which also has a stake in growing brand HTeaO.

Savory Fund, Mo’ Bettah Founders and brothers Kimo and Kalani Mack, and Crewe Capital will each retain significant minority stakes.

In 2017, Crewe Capital advised Mo’ Bettahs on a sale to Savory Fund, and together, they scaled the brand from six to 56 locations.

“We are grateful for the trust Mo’ Bettahs put in us to help form the partnership with Savory Fund, allowing us to invest alongside them both then and again now with Blue Marlin Partners and Trive Capital,” says Mike Bennett, managing partner of Crewe Capital. “It’s going to be exciting to watch this next stage of growth for Mo’ Bettahs.”

Over the last three years, Mo’ Bettahs’ revenue has grown 178%, and its loyalty/subscriber base now has nearly 500,000 members, according to a press release.

“We never planned on owning a restaurant—let alone almost 60 of them,” say the Mack brothers. “We were two city bus drivers from Hawaii who knew how to cook, how to eat and how to work, but the way our lives have unfolded is beyond anything we could have imagined.

“We wouldn’t be here without our Savory partners, Andrew and Shauna Smith. They have been by our side at every step of growth, all while respecting and honoring our experience and heritage. We are honored to continue the journey with them. This partnership will enable us to share good food and ‘spread da aloha’ across the mainland for years to come.”

Today, Mo’ Bettahs has units in Utah, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Nevada and Kansas.