Who owns tumbleweed restaurant

Eventually, they developed a complete menu for the new eatery, which opened in as Tumbleweed. Tumbleweed was a big hit right away, with patrons lining up on the sidewalk to wait for one of the restaurant's 28 tables. The venture turned a profit its very first year and continued to do so consistently. Soon, the Kellers came to believe they could turn their single restaurant into a chain; by , they had opened four more Tumbleweeds, all in the Louisville area. By the mids, the Kellers had expanded their chain to include seven company-owned and seven franchised restaurants in Kentucky, Indiana, and Wisconsin, as well as two joint-venture food-court outlets.

The menu had evolved into a combination of mesquite-grilled foods and flavorful, spicy Mexican meals. This dual menu, which created a sort of hybrid between a steak house and a Mexican restaurant, was designed to appeal to a broader range of patrons than either type of restaurant alone could.

The Kellers believed there were tremendous growth opportunities for Tumbleweed. They knew, however, that to take advantage of those opportunities, the business needed an infusion of capital.

Keller said that reaching that potential required 'financial resources greater than the current ownership is able to provide. The buyout was led by John Butorac, Jr. In his 27 years as a restaurateur, Butorac had served as owner, operator, consultant, and senior operations executive for a number of chains--including Chi-Chi's, Fuddrucker, Two Pesos Mexican Cafes, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

He had joined Tumbleweed in as a consultant and had since then played a key role in the chain's growth and development. Mulrooney was an accountant with a background in real estate development and restaurant operations. Like Butorac, he had spent several years in management positions with Chi-Chi's.

Roth and Cooper were partners in a local law firm. The principles formed Tumbleweed LLC--a limited liability company established for the express purpose of purchasing the Tumbleweed chain--and set about finding more investors to put up cash for the deal. George Keller, who had retained a minority stake in the chain, held a position on its board of directors. Tumbleweed's new management group had ambitious plans for the chain's growth. Their goal was to have restaurants open by the end of , which would mean adding roughly 24 new restaurants each year.

They planned to make no substantial alterations to the restaurants' concept, menu, staffing, or management style--merely to accelerate the pace. By early , however, Tumbleweed had managed to add only five restaurants, bringing the chain total to Butorac and his team had revised the company's expansion strategy to allow for more modest goals: 40 restaurants open by the end of , and up to 65 by the end of In a December , interview with Business First of Louisville, Butorac attributed the slower-than-projected growth to the company's inability to quickly enlist qualified franchisees.

In order to attract more franchisees, the owners began to review and modify the existing franchise program. One of the first changes they made was designed to offer more flexibility in restaurant size. Up to that point, the average Tumbleweed consisted of approximately 7, square feet, with seating for around people.

Because of their size, these restaurants were economically viable only in fairly large markets, which limited the pool of potential franchise sites. Butorac realized, however, that there were many smaller markets where a scaled-down version of the restaurant could be profitable.

Soon, Tumbleweed franchisees had three restaurant sizes to choose from: the traditional 'maxi,' or one of two new, smaller options: the 'midi' or the 'mini. The company's new franchise literature claimed that the flexible Tumbleweed concept was 'adaptable for virtually any size market. Another feature designed to make Tumbleweed attractive to potential franchisees was the company's use of a central commissary for the majority of the individual restaurants' food needs.

Whenever possible, cooked food ingredients and sauces were prepared in advance at the commissary and shipped to the restaurants, leaving only the final preparation for the restaurant workers. Because the restaurant itself was not responsible for extensive cooking, it required less kitchen space than it otherwise would have. This allowed for more seating space, and hence the potential for greater income.

It also greatly simplified day-to-day operations for the restaurant owners and managers, and ensured consistency in the menu items. The commissary did not operate to make a profit; franchisees were charged only slightly more than the actual cost of the food. By late , there were 29 Tumbleweed restaurants up and running. Of the 29, 17 were company-owned and 12 were franchised. Although most of its growth to that point had been geographically focused in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, the company was preparing to jump into international markets.

Under the terms of the licensing deal, Smith's newly formed company--Tumbleweed International LLC--was given exclusive rights to develop Tumbleweed restaurants outside North and South America. Smith immediately began converting his 17 Chi-Chi's locations to Tumbleweeds, reopening the first in Ehrlangen, Germany, in February Restaurants in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, and Brussels soon followed.

At the same time, Tumbleweed International began construction on three new locations: one in Amman, Jordan, and one in Cairo.

Berman said the order specifies that, if Tumbleweed remains on the riverfront property past Nov. Berman said district court does not have the ability in eviction disputes to issue orders involving money payments — including payment of any back rent — but merely has the authority to determine who has rights to the disputed property.

In a counter to Waterweed's eviction effort, Tumbleweed filed suit in Jefferson Circuit Court last week against both the waterfront agency and Waterweed, challenging any eviction and contesting the amount of the rent owed. That litigation remains in place. Berman and Higgins both said, however, that they expect soon to resume negotiations on the rent. Berman declined in an interview to say exactly how much he thinks is owed but emphasized that the landlord strongly believes that Tumbleweed is in default on the lease.

Higgins said that, for now, Tumbleweed has no intent to withdraw the Jefferson Circuit Court suit. Higgins said Friday that the riverfront restaurant — a two-story structure with about 12, square feet of space that employs as many as people at peak times — will throw a going away party to celebrate the closure, with details of the celebration apparently to come.

He said he expects to relocate all of the waterfront restaurant's workers to the chain's other area stores. Higgins said that Tumbleweed wasn't interested in staying on the waterfront, unless it could arrange more favorable lease terms. Tumbleweed has operated at the riverfront location since It has paid varying amounts to the waterfront agency under the lease, most of the time 3.

Tumbleweed has said it has held back rent payments in the hope of attaining less expensive lease terms. Tumbleweed has more than 20 restaurants, about half of them in the Louisville area. Tumbleweed emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in , several years after filing for financial reorganization. Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at