Ballard Brands Expands Restaurant Offerings to Philadelphia with Acquisition

by David Cohen

PHILADELPHIA— Ballard Brands, a Covington, Louisiana-based restaurant and hospitality group whose brands include PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans, WOW Café and New Orleans Roast Coffee & Tea, has expanded its restaurant holdings to include several Latin American concepts in Philadelphia.

Brothers Paul, Steven and Scott Ballard of Ballard Brands recently purchased Philadelphia-based Garces Group — which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year — resulting in the inception of IdEATtion Hospitality. The brothers purchased Garces in partnership with Mississippi native Ronnie Artigues and Philadelphia investor David Maser. Garces restaurants and catering companies were founded by Chef Jose Garces, an Iron Chef and James Beard Award winner. IdEATion Hospitality now leverages the resources of two established brands, Garces and Ballard Brands.

As part of the acquisition, the Ballards and their investment partners acquired several popular and award-winning Garces Philadelphia restaurants: Amada, Tinto, Village Whiskey, The Olde Bar, JG Domestic, Volvér and their full-service catering division, Garces Events. Chef Garces remains in a leadership position as chief culinary officer. Artigues will serve as CEO of the Philadelphia-based operations.

“Chef Jose is a culinary expert who brings a renowned reputation and vision to our team and we’re thrilled for the new partnership,” says Scott Ballard, co-founder at Ballard Brands. “We look forward to exploring new ideas and expansion in Louisiana, Philadelphia and beyond.”

The Ballards founded Ballard Brands in 2001 after years of owning and operating retail beverage franchises. Since then, Ballard Brands has opened locations in 30 states and three countries. With the addition of the Garces restaurants, the Ballard portfolio will include 165 locations and about 1,450 employees.

Ballard Brands, LLC is a hospitality and food service business formed in December 2001 by brothers Paul, Steven and Scott Ballard. After starting the company with one restaurant and two coffee house franchises, Ballard Brands now owns, operates and manages restaurants and food and beverage concepts in 30 states and three countries.

Ideation Hospitality specializes in personal dining experiences rooted in the rich cultural traditions and culinary vision of renowned Latin-American chef Jose Garces. The group also operates Garces Events, a full-service catering and event division.

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