Marble Slab Creamery

Last updated
Marble Slab Creamery
FormerlyCones & Cream (1983–1986)
Company type Subsidiary
IndustryRestaurant
Genre Ice cream store
Founded1983;41 years ago (1983) in Houston, Texas
FoundersSigmund Penn
Tom LePage
Headquarters
Number of locations
391 (2021)
Area served
United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) Canada, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
Key people
Andy Wiederhorn (CEO, FAT Brands)
ProductsIce cream desserts, cakes, pies, shakes, smoothies, frozen yogurt
Parent FAT Brands
Website marbleslab.com

Marble Slab Creamery (Marble Slab) is an American chain of ice cream shops owned by FAT Brands. Its corporate offices are in Atlanta, Georgia.

Contents

There are more than 392 stores in various countries, [1] all independently owned and franchised. [2]

History

A Marble Slab Creamery in Edmonton, Alberta. MarbleSlabCreameryEdmonton.jpg
A Marble Slab Creamery in Edmonton, Alberta.

Marble Slab, which began as a single unit operation called Cones & Cream, [3] was founded in Houston by chefs Sigmund Penn and Tom LePage in 1983. They were inspired by Steve Herrell of Herrell's Ice Cream in Boston, who pioneered the mixing approach to ice cream toppings. [4] In 1986, Marble Slab became the first ice cream treatery to use a frozen granite slab to blend mix-in toppings into the ice cream. [5] Later that year, Marble Slab was bought by Ronnie Hankamer of Texas, who laid the groundwork for the brand's franchising concept. [5]

In the late 2000s, Marble Slab expanded beyond its southeastern presence and has been recognized as a fast-growing franchise. In 2007 it was ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 (#93), Fastest-Growing Franchises (#72), and America's Top Global Franchises (#75). [6]

As an independent company it had its headquarters in the Westchase area of Houston, Texas. [7] After the NexCen acquisition, initially the brand's headquarters were in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia. [8] In July 2010, NexCen announced the sale of its franchise business to Global Franchise Group, LLC, an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. Global Franchise Group is now owned by Lion Capital LLP and Serruya Private Equity.

Ownership changes

In February 2007, Global Franchise Group purchased Marble Slab Creamery taking the company off the stock market, since its acquisition the chain has been a franchise brand with MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery and Great American Cookies.

On June 28, 2021, Global Franchise Group announced that it would be acquired by FAT Brands, owners of Fatburger and Johnny Rockets. [9] The acquisition was completed on July 22. [10]

Products

The chain specializes in serving homemade ice cream. The chain serves a variety of other desserts including ice cream cakes, sundaes and milkshakes as well as smoothies.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Table Pizza</span> American Pizzas Parlor Chain

Round Table Pizza is a chain and franchise of pizza parlours in the Western United States. The first Round Table Pizza restaurant was opened in 1959, and the company has over 400 restaurants. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Dog on a Stick</span> Fast food franchise

Hot Dog on a Stick is a fast food company that was founded by Dave Barham in Santa Monica, California, in 1946, and later branched out into malls and shopping centers. In 2014, the company was purchased by Global Franchise Group based in Atlanta, GA. Under GFG, the brand has opened new locations across the country and moved into the franchising space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookies and cream</span> Ice cream variety flavored with chocolate sandwich cookies

Cookies and cream is a variety of ice cream, milkshake and other desserts that includes chocolate sandwich cookies, with the most popular version containing hand or pre-crumbled cookies from Nabisco's Oreo brand under a licensing agreement. Cookies and cream ice cream generally mixes crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies into vanilla ice cream, though variations exist which might instead use chocolate, coffee or mint ice cream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery</span> Chain of icecream shops

MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery is a chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in serving ice cream and other desserts. The first MaggieMoo's opened in 1989 in Kansas City, Kansas. At its peak, the brand had 400 stores and had a goal of opening over 1,000 stores. The brand's headquarters are in unincorporated Fulton County, Georgia. When MaggieMoo's was an independent company, it had its headquarters in Columbia, Maryland. It later became a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group, along with Marble Slab Creamery, until 2021 after Global Franchise Group was acquired by FAT Brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lion Capital LLP</span> British private equity firm

Lion Capital LLP is a British private equity firm specialising in investments in the consumer sector. Previous and current consumer brands owned by Lion have included Weetabix, Jimmy Choo, Wagamama, Kettle Foods and AllSaints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve's Ice Cream</span> American ice cream brand

Steve's Ice Cream was an ice cream brand which began as an ice-cream parlor chain owned by Steve Herrell. He opened his first establishment at 191 Elm Street in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1973. Known as the Original Steve's Ice Cream, the business introduced the concept of super-premium ice cream and customized ice cream desserts using the mix-in.

Global Franchise Group was a brand-acquisition and management firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It specialized in franchising and quick-service restaurant industries. It was founded in 2010 with the acquisition of NexCen Brands' properties and was acquired by FAT Brands in July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pretzelmaker</span> US bakery chain

Pretzelmaker is a chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in hand-rolled pretzels, smoothies and cold beverages. It is a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group. It has more than 280 locations in the U.S. and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great American Cookies</span> North American gourmet cookie chain commonly found in shopping malls

Great American Cookie Co., doing business as Great American Cookies, is an American chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in gourmet cookies, especially cookie cakes. It has over 290 stores in the U.S., particularly in the Southeast as well as Puerto Rico and Guam, most commonly located in malls. The company was founded in 1977 and has its headquarters in Atlanta. It is since 2010 a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold Stone Creamery</span> American ice cream chain

The Cold Stone Creamery, Inc. is an American international ice cream parlor chain. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is owned and operated by Kahala Brands. The company's main product is premium ice cream made with approximately 12–14% butterfat, made on location and customized for patrons at time of order. Cold Stone has also expanded its menu with other ice cream-related products, including: ice cream cakes, pies, cookie sandwiches, smoothies, shakes, and iced or blended coffee drinks.

Kahala Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based MTY Food Group Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kahala is one of North America's largest holding company of franchise fast food restaurant companies. In May 2016, the publicly traded Canadian MTY Food Group announced a friendly takeover deal with the Kahala Brands. MTY agreed to pay about US$300 million to acquire Kahala. The two companies generated nearly $2 billion in revenues in the previous year. Jeff Smit was chosen to lead the US operations of MTY.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herrell's Ice Cream</span> Ice cream stores, New York and Massachusetts

Herrell's Ice Cream is a chain of ice cream stores located in Massachusetts and New York, featuring over 400 homemade flavors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie Farms Dairy</span> American Midwestern dairy cooperative

Prairie Farms Dairy is a dairy cooperative founded in Carlinville, Illinois, and now headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. As a dairy cooperative, Prairie Farms receives milk from producers and converts it into many different products, including cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, various dips, yogurt, and fluid milk. Prairie Farms also produces and sells juices, flavored drinks, and pre-made iced tea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twin Peaks (restaurant chain)</span> American chain of sports bars and restaurants

Twin Peaks is an American chain of sports bars and restaurants based in Lewisville, Texas, which has been described as an "ultimate sports lodge" and breastaurant along with similar chains. The chain is known for having its waitresses, primarily young women and typically referred to as "Twin Peaks Girls", dress in revealing uniforms that consist of cleavage- and midriff-revealing red plaid tops, as well as khaki shorts or denim short shorts. At other times, waitresses wear revealing seasonal or themed outfits. Restaurants are decorated in the theme of a wilderness lodge and serve a mix of American, Southwest and Southern cuisines as well as alcohol. The chain's slogan is "Eats. Drinks. Scenic Views."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Salsa</span> Chain of American fast-casual Tex-Mex restaurants

La Salsa is a chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Los Angeles, California in 1979, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and is owned by Canadian franchisor MTY Food Group. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, and each restaurant features a self-serve salsa bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FAT Brands</span> American multi-brand restaurant operator

FAT Brands is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

References

  1. Archived 2010-10-27 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved on 2008-10-19.
  2. "57. Whataburger". Franchise Times . 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  3. Nation's Restaurant News
  4. Shannon Jackson Arnold (2004). Everybody Loves Ice Cream: The Whole Scoop on America's Favorite. Emmis Books. ISBN   9781578601653 . Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  5. 1 2 Franchise Solutions Marble Slab Creamery -The Freshest Ice Cream On EarthTM Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine , Franchise Solution, Retrieved on 2008-03-27
  6. "Start a Marble Slab Creamery Franchise in 2024". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  7. "Facts at a Glance. Marble Slab Creamery. June 14, 1998. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.
  8. Contact Us." Marble Slab Creamery. Retrieved on February 26, 2010.
  9. Inc, FAT Brands (28 June 2021). "FAT Brands Inc. Agrees to Acquire Global Franchise Group for $442.5 million". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 1 September 2021.{{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  10. Inc., FAT Brands (22 July 2021). "FAT Brands Completes Acquisition of Global Franchise Group". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 1 September 2021.{{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)