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Santa Barbara Restaurant Group was a restaurant holding company and was the parent company for the Green Burrito, La Salsa, JB's Restaurants, and the Timber Lodge Steakhouse restaurant chain.

The Santa Barbara Restaurant Group was originally created in 1986 as GB Foods Inc. to serve as the holding company for the Green Burrito fast-food Mexican restaurant chain. A large change in the company occurred when William P. Foley, the chairman for CKE Restaurants acquired a controlling interest in the company in 1997 and converted the company from a holding company that controlled a single chain to one that controlled many chains. The following year, GB Foods changed its name to the Santa Barbara Restaurant Group and started to acquire other restaurant chains, such as the Timber Lodge Steakhouse and in a different transaction, JB's Restaurants and other restaurants chains that were once a part of CKE.

After two years of negotiations, La Salsa was acquired in June 1999.

To focus on Mexican fast food and steakhouses, the JB's Restaurants chain was sold off to a group of investors that included JB's managers in 2000.

In March 2002, Santa Barbara Restaurant Group was acquired by CKE Restaurants in a swap of company stock. At the time of the acquisition, both companies shared many board members and Santa Barbara Restaurant Group operated 56 La Salsa restaurants, 25 Timber Lodge Steakhouse restaurants, and 5 Green Burrito restaurants while also franchising 39 La Salsa restaurants, 30 Green Burrito stand-alone restaurants, one Timber Lodge Steakhouse restaurant and 195 Green Burrito dual-concept restaurants. CKE was also the largest franchisee of the Green Burrito concept, all of which were sharing space at selected Carl's Jr. locations at the time of the acquisition, so the result of the acquisition made it easier for CKE to expand the Green Burrito dual-brand concept to additional Carl's Jr. locations. To better focus on the fast food industry, CKE quickly sold off Timber Lodge to a consortium headed by Timber Lodge managers in 2004. CKE was not very successful in expanding the La Salsa concept to new territories before it gave up and sold the chain to Baja Fresh in 2007.

References

1. "Santa Barbara Restaurant Group, Inc. History". FundingUniverse.
2. Barron, Kelly (July 22, 1997). "CKE chief gains control of Green Burrito - DEALS: GB Foods head Willy Theisen sells most of his stake and resigns". Orange County Register. p. c01. William P. Foley II is at it again. His Fidelity National Financial Inc. on Monday paid $5.8 million for a 41 percent stake in GB Foods Corp., the operator of the Mexican fast-food chain Green Burrito. The purchase gives Foley, chairman of Fidelity National and CKE Restaurants Inc., control of another fast-food chain.
3. Earnest, Leslie (September 3, 1998). "Purchase of Timber Lodge Survives Market Downturn". Los Angeles Times.
4. Hernandez, Greg (June 9, 1999). "Green Burrito Parent to Acquire La Salsa: Santa Barbara Restaurant Group will buy rival chain. Value of sale is not disclosed". Los Angeles Times.
5. "Santa Barbara Restaurant Group and La Salsa Holding Company Announce The Execution of a Definitive Merger Agreement Whereby Santa Barbara Restaurant Group Will Acquire All of the Outstanding Capital Stock of La Salsa Holding Company". PR Newswire (Press release). June 8, 1999.
6. "Santa Barbara Restaurant Group Completes Acquisition of La Salsa Holding Company and Appoints Kevin Osborn President of La Salsa and Green Burrito". PR Newswire (Press release). July 16, 1999.
7. "JB Restaurant Chain Sold". New York Times. March 25, 2000.
8. "CKE Restaurants, Inc. and Santa Barbara Restaurant Group, Inc. Announce The Signing of a Letter of Intent for CKE Restaurants To Acquire Santa Barbara Restaurant Group". PR Newswire (Press release). November 19, 2001.
9. "CKE Restaurants, Inc. and Santa Barbara Restaurant Group, Inc. Set to Close Merger". PR Newswire (Press release). February 28, 2002.
10. "CKE Restaurants, Inc. Announces Sale of Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Inc". PR Newswire (Press release). September 7, 2004.
11. Luna, Nancy (May 29, 2007). "Anaheim investor to buy La Salsa". Orange County Register. CKE Restaurants is selling its 96-unit La Salsa chain to Baja Fresh, whose key owner is from Orange County... The chain had grown to 90 units when CKE Restaurants acquired it from Santa Barbara Restaurant Group in a $54 million all-stock deal in 2002.
12. "CKE Restaurants, Inc. Announces Sale of La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill(R) Restaurants". PR Newswire (Press release). May 29, 2007.

External links

• CKE Restaurants acquires Santa Barbara Restaurant Group

• Defunct companies based in California
• Defunct restaurant chains in the United States
• Companies based in Santa Barbara, California
• American companies established in 1986
• 1986 establishments in California
• 2002 mergers and acquisitions
• CKE Restaurants