Restaurateur Paul Sundy sold interest in four businesses under three names this month so he and a partner could explore investment opportunities and grow the Big Whiskey’s American Bar & Grill brand.
Sundy and English Management partner Mike Heslin sold their combined 40 percent interest in two Dublin’s Pass locations and Vintage Nightclub to partners Randy Gildehaus and Austin Herschend for an undisclosed amount. The deal closed Oct. 1.
Sundy and Heslin own English Management, which serves as the management company for the Gillioz Theatre, Vintage Nightclub, Parlor 88, Big Whiskey’s, Dublin’s Pass and English Apparel & Promotional Materials, which the partners started
in April. Sundy, Heslin, Herschend, Gildehaus and Jamie Clark co-own Big Whiskey’s, with three locations in Springfield, and one licensing agreement in place in Little Rock, Ark.
In addition, Sundy, Trevor Crist of Nixon & Lindstrom Insurance and Adam Pyle of contractors Adam Pyle & Associates sold a downtown Parlor 88 location to general manager Brian Wendelman on Oct. 10. Sundy said the time was right to narrow his business interests.
“We’ve opened 16 locations in under 10 years, so it was time to consolidate some of that and try and focus on a few things,” Sundy said. “We’ve been dabbling in the property world for a while and we’re looking at probably getting heavier into that. But right now, we’re in the process of opening three more Big Whiskey’s American Bar & Grills.”
He said by the end of the week, he expects to have a lease signed for a 4,000-square-foot property next to B&B Theatres in Ozark. In addition, he said he and Heslin are working to open at least two other locations in markets including Kansas City, Columbia and Fayetteville, Ark.
“Our goal is to have five or six more open in the next couple of years,” Sundy said. “Mike and I are going to focus more on the expansion of Big Whiskey’s, and Randy and his partners at Dublin’s and Vintage are going to focus on those.”
28 Properties LLC, which is also owned by Sundy, Crist and Pyle, continues to own the building at 300 Park Central East where the downtown Parlor 88 is located, but Wendelman now owns the business, Sundy said. He declined to disclose terms of the deal.
“It was always kind of a property deal for us. It was his moment to jump into ownership and it made sense for him and us,” Sundy said. “We still own the south and east Parlor 88s, but the downtown store is all his.”
Sundy said he has no plans to sell other properties at this time, but would consider selling under the right circumstances.
“Everything is for sale. But right now, we are just looking at opportunities,” he said. “We’re looking at opportunities whether that’s development, land purchase, more restaurant concepts, and obviously, we are hot and heavy into expanding the Big Whiskey’s brand.”[[In-content Ad]]
