Growler USA, a Centennial-based taphouse franchiser bent on massive expansion, is getting into the deli business.
Growler USA acquired Denver’s Smiling Moose Rocky Mountain Deli chain for an undisclosed sum, the company announced Wednesday.
“We’re doing fine as a startup company. And folks that know me know I’m always on the prowl for another deal, so to speak,” said Growler USA CEO Dan White. “The Moose has huge potential.”
Smiling Moose, a fast-casual concept founded in 2003, has 18 locations in seven states. White’s holding company, Do What’s Right Brands, is changing the décor of those locations to reflect their Rocky Mountain heritage. The menu, which White calls fabulous, will receive only minor tweaks.
“We understand how to grow a company,” White said. “When I looked at the Moose, and I looked at the economics of it and felt like if we could apply our personality our management style to it, that it would truly open it up.”
Growler USA, a microbrew-focused pub with 100 draft lines for craft beer, cider, mead and wine, has grown to 30 locations in 10 states since White launched the franchise concept in 2014.
More are on the way, including one in Centennial and locations targeted for Denver, Colorado Springs, Louisville and Longmont, White said. In two years, there could be 200 Growler USAs, White said.
Smiling Moose is expected to grow at a slower pace, with 100 locations by 2020. But the two brands might play into each other’s future, White said.
At next week’s Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas, White plans to market Growler USA and Smiling Moose in a packaged deal. Do What’s Right Brands also is rolling out a model that would allow a franchisee to operate both businesses under the same roof.
In that model, the businesses would have separate entrances and spaces but would share a kitchen and bathrooms.
Do What’s Right Brands also might not stop at Growler USA and Smiling Moose. White said he’s keeping his options open for future acquisitions.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
