Real Mex Turnaround Goes From Mild To Hot

Under the leadership of Bryan Lockwood, who joined the company as chief executive officer in March of 2015, the new Real Mex management team has stabilized the business and quickly returned the company to positive growth, recording 12 months of year-over-year positive same store sales in spite of negative casual restaurant dining trends.  The turnaround, which happened ahead of company forecasts, includes 22 restaurants under renovation, including a complete overhaul of the popular Acapulco Restaurant and Cantina in Downey, Calif. The Real Mex reversal has earned the confidence and capital support by equity sponsors Z Capital Partners and Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC.  For more information about Real Mex Restaurants please visit http://www.realmexrestaurants.com/about-us-page-snippet/#.

The acquisition strategy would consider an acceleration of the target's sales and portfolio growth, while leveraging Real Mex infrastructure and scale to improve operations and profitability post-integration. The ideal target brand has an annual sales range of $100M - $300M. Real Mex is targeting all cuisines and categories (excluding QSR) such as fast casual, fine dining and casual dining. Real Mex seeks a target with a loyal guest base that appeals to millennials and next generation with significant national and global expansion potential.

Real Mex has retained Telsey Advisory Group LLC (TAG) to act as its exclusive financial advisor in its acquisition plan.  TAG is a leading research, trading, banking, and consulting brokerage firm focused on the consumer sector. 

"Real Mex is returning to growth," said Bryan Lockwood. "I'm proud of the progress the new leadership team has made and look forward to propelling this momentum through our partnership with Telsey Advisory Group."

"Real Mex has a bright future," said Dana Telsey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TAG. "We are honored to have been selected for this important project and look forward to working closely with Bryan and his team as they build upon their success."

For additional information on the Real Mex acquisition program or to present a proposed acquisition, contact David Smith, Managing Director and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at TAG, at (727) 409-4099 or [email protected]. 

About Real Mex Restaurants
Headquartered in Cypress, California, Real Mex Restaurants is the largest full-service, casual dining Mexican restaurant chain operator in the United States with more than 100 company-owned and operated restaurants, as well as 13 franchised locations. Real Mex brands include El Torito Restaurants, Acapulco Mexican Restaurants, Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurants, El Torito Grill Restaurants, Pink Taco on the Sunset Strip, Las Brisas Restaurant in Laguna Beach, Sinigual Restaurant in New York City, El Paso Cantina in Torrance, California and Who Song and Larry's Cal-Mex Cantina in Orange, California. For more information, please visit www.realmexrestaurants.com.

About Z Capital Partners
Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. ("Z Capital Partners") is the private equity management arm of Z Capital Group, L.L.C ("Z Capital"), a leading global alternative investment manager with approximately $2.3 billion of regulatory assets under management with offices in New York, NY; Lake Forest, IL; and Zurich, Switzerland. Z Capital Partners' portfolio companies currently have aggregate worldwide annual revenues of approximately $2 billion, sell products in 48 countries, and have more than 190,000 associates directly and through joint ventures. Z Capital's investors include prominent global sovereign wealth funds, endowments, pension funds, insurance companies, foundations, family offices, and other institutions in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.zcap.net.

About Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC
Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC (TCP) is an alternative investment management firm focused on performing credit and special situations for middle-market companies. TCP manages funds and accounts on behalf of global institutional investors. It also manages a publicly-traded business development company, TCP Capital Corp (NASDAQ:TCPC). Since its founding, TCP has invested more than $15 billion in over 390 companies. TCP is headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in New York and San Francisco. For more information, please visit: www.tennenbaumcapital.com.

About Telsey Advisory Group LLC
Telsey Advisory Group (TAG) is a leading research, trading, banking, and consulting brokerage firm focused on the consumer sector. With a long-standing history of evaluating and assessing the consumer market, TAG provides its clients the detailed analysis and market context that is necessary to make strategic and investment decisions.  TAG's web site is www.telseygroup.com.

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