Founders Table acquires Hopdoddy, signaling shift for restaurant workers

Founders Table Restaurant Group is taking control of Hopdoddy Burger Bar, a move that could change the day-to-day work of cooks, bartenders and shift leaders at the 47-unit burger chain even if the menu barely changes. Hopdoddy brought in about $138 million in system sales and averaged nearly $2.9 million per restaurant, with more than 30 locations in Texas and units in California, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

The bigger workplace story is the ownership change behind the counter. Founders Table, founded in 2020, already owns Chopt Creative Salad Company, Dos Toros Taqueria, Field Trip, Protein Bar & Kitchen and Sweet Chick, and says its platform now spans more than 200 locations and nearly $500 million in revenue. For restaurant crews, that kind of platform deal often means shared scheduling systems, centralized training, tighter supply-chain controls and more pressure to hit labor targets from headquarters instead of from a local general manager.

Hopdoddy’s leadership is shifting as well. Jeff Chandler will move into a board advisory role, and Kenny Jett, the company’s vice president of operations, will become president. That change matters on the floor because a new president can reset hiring pace, manager expectations and how aggressively stores chase growth. Hopdoddy has already grown through acquisition and conversion, including its 2022 purchase of Grub Burger Bar, and in December 2024 the company said it aimed to nearly double its restaurant count within five years.

The transaction had already entered the regulatory process by April 28, 2026, when an FTC early termination notice was dated. Chandler described the deal as a strategic stock merger with no cash exchanged, underscoring that this was less a liquidation than a shift in control. For hourly workers, that can still mean real change if the new owner decides to push harder on efficiency, especially in a bar-forward, higher-volume casual format where kitchen, service and beverage teams have to move in lockstep.

Founders Table said Hopdoddy fits its playbook because it is a differentiated concept with loyal guests and strong quality, and the company has signaled that it wants to keep pursuing nontraditional venues such as healthcare, education and transportation centers. That experience includes coexisting brands at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal C, a reminder that the next chapter for Hopdoddy workers may be shaped as much by systems and site strategy as by burgers themselves.