Founders Table Acquires Protein Bar to Accelerate Expansion, Spur Staffing Changes

Founders Table, the operator behind Chopt Creative Salad Company and Dos Toros Taqueria, acquired Protein Bar & Kitchen in a bid to fuel geographic expansion and scale the quick-casual brand across new markets. The deal brings Protein Bar’s menu of bowls, shakes and açaí into a larger restaurant group that plans to accelerate growth using shared systems and infrastructure.

Protein Bar, founded in Chicago in 2009, currently runs 15 corporate locations and four licensed airport units in Chicago, New York City, Boise and Salt Lake City. The brand recently launched a franchising program with units planned for Chicago suburbs, Indianapolis and other markets, signaling a push beyond its existing footprint. Founders Table executives have framed the acquisition as a strategic fit: the product set complements the group’s portfolio and offers expansion-ready unit economics the operator can scale.

For employees, the acquisition will touch multiple layers of the business. Corporate staff are likely to face integration of finance, human resources, marketing, information technology and purchasing functions as the brands move toward consolidated back-office operations. Those integrations can mean role changes, redundancies or new positions depending on overlap and the group’s chosen structure.

At the store level, teams should expect a period of transition work as systems are aligned. Changes to point-of-sale setups, inventory and supply-chain procedures, training programs and reporting cadence typically accompany such deals. Operations and training roles may expand as Founders Table rolls out standardized processes and supports an expanding franchised footprint. Supply-chain and logistics roles could also grow if the group centralizes procurement to realize scale savings.

Licensed airport locations and upcoming franchise units introduce another staffing dynamic. Airport sites often operate under license agreements with different staffing and wage structures, which can limit immediate corporate hiring but create opportunities for local operators. The franchising push is likely to generate franchise support positions within Founders Table and new hiring at franchisee-owned restaurants, particularly in the Chicago suburbs and Indianapolis where units are planned.

The acquisition signals both short-term disruption and medium-term opportunity. In the near term, expect heightened training, system rollouts and potential corporate reorganization. Over the longer term, the deal could open pathways for restaurant operators, district managers, trainers and supply-chain professionals as Protein Bar moves into new markets. Workers and managers should monitor communications from both brands for specific timelines on integrations, hiring and any changes to store-level procedures as the expansion unfolds.