Dive Brief:
- Vegan fast casual chain By Chloe has been renamed Beatnic, according to Fortune.
- The rebranding, which will include new packaging, signage and digital platforms began this month and is expected to be done by September. The company doesn't plan to change its core menu.
- The name change comes as part of the deal after its parent company BC Hospitality Group was acquired out of bankruptcy by its stalking horse bidder, a group of investors that included Bain Capital Double Impact Fund and Kitchen Fund, for $333,000. These investors previously provided financing for the chain.
Dive Insight:
The renaming is the latest in a legal saga involving the brand's co-founder, celebrity chef Chloe Coscarelli. A judge previously ruled that BC Hospitality didn't have the rights to sell the name without Coscarelli's say so. Coscarelli also filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the chain's investors in May regarding the use of the By Chloe name prior to the bankruptcy sale, according to Restaurant Business.
With fresh financing and a new name, the company appears to be on a different trajectory. The brand is also under the new leadership of Catey Mark Meyers, who was appointed interim president following the December resignation of CEO Jimmy Haber. She's now the company's permanent president, according to Fortune.
The chain is ready to grow following its bankruptcy dismissal. During the pandemic, the chain had to shift to offer takeout and delivery. At the time, the company also had to furlough or layoff over half of its staff and saw its monthly revenue decrease by 67%.
It also dropped its unit count from 14 locations to 10 within New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Its flagship will reopen in Greenwich Village in September, according to Fortune. The chain has ambitions to expand further in New York City and into another large city in the U.S., Meyers told Fortune.
