Red Robin sells 86 company-owned restaurants in $72.5 million deal

Red Robin’s latest refranchising move will keep 86 restaurants open under the same brand, but the people running the day-to-day operation are set to change. For managers and hourly staff, that usually means a new playbook for scheduling, training, benefits administration and labor-cost control, even when the menu, uniforms and guest experience look familiar from the dining room.

The company said it entered two separate agreements to sell the units for a combined $72.5 million. Op Burgers, LLC will take over 69 Red Robin locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia for $62.5 million. Kuber Oregon, LLC and Kuber Washington, LLC will acquire 17 restaurants in Oregon and Washington for $10 million. Red Robin said the restaurants will continue operating under the Red Robin brand and that the deals still must clear customary due diligence, adjustments and closing conditions.

The sale fits a broader shift at Red Robin, which has leaned on refranchising to raise cash and reduce debt. The company said the net proceeds will go toward paying down outstanding debt and supporting refinancing priorities under its First Choice Plan. Dave Pace, Red Robin’s chief executive, said the new partners bring experienced operators into the system and should give the company more financial flexibility to reduce debt, support refinancing objectives and accelerate system-wide investment.

For workers, the bigger question is what changes once a restaurant moves from corporate ownership to franchise control. A new operator can reshape who writes the schedules, how aggressively managers are pushed on food and labor costs, how quickly open shifts are filled and what support crew members get on the floor. That can affect everything from prep staffing and kitchen coverage to whether assistant managers are trained in the same way store leaders were under corporate oversight.

The June 15 deal followed a May 28 agreement to sell 30 more locations to Evergreen Dining LLC for $23.5 million in cash, bringing the three announced transactions to about $96 million. Red Robin said Evergreen’s principals have run more than 100 restaurants across multiple national brands over nearly three decades, with support functions that include accounting, human resources, IT, marketing, payroll, purchasing and real estate. That kind of infrastructure can steady a store after a transition, but it can also bring a tighter operating model focused on store-level performance.

Red Robin’s balance sheet helps explain the push. In its first-quarter 2026 results, the company reported total revenue of $378.3 million, a net loss of $2.2 million and a 1.6% decline in guest traffic. As of April 19, 2026, it had more than $171 million in long-term debt. Red Robin said the Evergreen Dining transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, and the company said it would update guidance after that closing.