Investor Takes Bigger Portion of Asian Food Sector

A local financier and restaurateur who now owns Pick Up Stix said he plans to revitalize the chain, which is being added to his portfolio of three other Asian casual dining restaurant chains. Lorne Goldberg is a former investment banker and the owner and operator of Sherman Oaks-based private investment firm West Coast Capital. Through the entity of Stix Holdings, LLC, Goldberg acquired Pick Up Stix from Carlson Restaurants Inc., the owner of the T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain. The transaction closed on Dec. 20. Goldberg “We’re not looking to expand Pick Up Stix on day one,” Goldberg said, adding that the focus will first be on obtaining operational excellence. “We’re going to freshen the brand, modernize the brand and make it very hip, cool and exciting.” Goldberg said his specific goals to enhancing Pick Up Stix include unifying the brand, improving the food, modernizing the stores, improving the guest service experience, simplifying the menu and reducing the guest wait time. Goldberg is no stranger to the Asian casual dining market. He owns and operates three other Asian fast casual dining restaurant chains – Leeann Chin, Mandarin Express and Chin’s Asia Fresh. With Pick Up Stix being added to the mix, Goldberg now owns and operates 160 restaurants. Pick Up Stix has 70 corporate-owned locations, which are all in Southern California. Growing sector Goldberg said he entered the restaurant industry “accidentally” when he was an investment banker and was asked to sell the Mandarin Express chain. Instead of selling, he liked what he saw and decided to buy it in 2004. After adding two other Asian dining chains to his portfolio, Pick Up Stix seemed like a natural fit, Goldberg said. “It’s a business we understand very well, and there’s a lot of potential in the category for growth and expansion, and it has become a niche,” he said. “(Pick Up Stix) was auctioned, and it made sense to us economically to do the deal.” Goldberg said he was already eyeing the chain when the opportunity to buy was presented to him through an investment banker. David Bonrouhi, managing director of Calabasas Capital LLC, which served as the investment banker and financial advisor for Goldberg in the deal, said it was his client’s current involvement in the market that gave him leverage against other bidders. “We won this deal because we had the lowest risk of execution,” Bonrouhi said. “There was not financing contingencies, and we demonstrated that we understood the business better than any other buyer.” Bonrouhi, who said the restaurant industry is one of Calabasas Capital’s main industry focuses, added that Goldberg is moving forward in a booming sector. “It’s one of the fastest growing sectors of the restaurant industry, one being the Asian food category and the other being the fast casual category,” he said. “It’s a lower ticket price, and in this kind of economy, people are looking for value.” Terms of comparison As for competition in the dining sector, Bonrouhi said with the acquisition of Pick Up Stix, Goldberg now owns one of the largest portfolios of Asian fast casual restaurants in the country. The largest is Panda Express with nearly 1,300 units nationwide. Goldberg said Pick Up Stix should not be compared to Panda Express. “We don’t really view Panda as a competitor,” he said, adding that the Rosemead-based chain is in a different playing field. “They have a different concept than Pick Up Stix. They’re so much larger, and they have a different price point than we do.” Goldberg added that Pick Up Stix is also different because customers’ food is cooked to order. There are Pick Up Stix restaurants at various locations throughout the San Fernando Valley region, including Calabasas, Studio City, Westlake Village, Porter Ranch, Granada Hills, Simi Valley and Valencia. Goldberg said that while he will be consolidating some of Pick Up Stix’s operations in Minnesota, where his other restaurants are headquartered, the chain will keep its headquarters in San Clemente, Calif.