Black Rock Coffee Bar Receives Strategic Growth Investment from The Cynosure Group
Black Rock Coffee Bar Receives Strategic Growth Investment from The Cynosure Group
Black Rock Coffee Bar (“Black Rock” or “BRC”), a fast-growing operator of drive-thru focused coffee bars, has received a strategic growth investment from The Cynosure Group. Based in Portland, Oregon, Black Rock has more than 70 stores operating across seven states along the west coast, southwest and mountain west regions.
Founded in 2007, BRC has grown significantly in recent years while impressively remaining founder and management-owned. The company’s loyal and growing customer base is driven by its high-quality specialty coffee products and beverage offerings, including energy drinks, as well as its unique culture-focused approach centered on local community engagement and a connected customer experience. BRC’s thoughtful expansion strategy has enabled it to successfully enter into new markets while establishing itself as a pillar in the community.
Black Rock viewed Cynosure as an ideal partner to support its continued growth due to its collaborative nature of partnering with management and founder-owned businesses, long-term patient capital base, and ability to craft flexible investment structures to best suit the needs of its partner companies.
“We are excited to partner with Cynosure who appreciates and understands our vision, and values Black Rock’s unique customer- and community-centric culture which has been key to our success since inception” said Jeff Hernandez, co-founder and Chairman of Black Rock. “Given this is the first time we are bringing in institutional capital, we wanted to make sure we found the right partner who is equally committed to our long-term success, and with Cynosure, we found that.”
Over the course of the next year, the company plans on meaningfully expanding its footprint. Capital from the transaction will support Black Rock’s accelerated growth in markets such as Arizona, Colorado and Texas.
Josh Pike, CEO of Black Rock, added, “We believe we are on an exciting trajectory at Black Rock. Growth capital will allow us to expand Black Rock’s reach in some of our high growth markets. It will also allow us to continue to invest in our employees and business in a manner that will help us serve our customers and communities at even higher levels than before – our culture, the outcome of a deep focus on employees, customers and community, continues to be our top priority.”
The opportunity to partner with Black Rock aligned well with Cynosure’s investment approach of partnering with exceptional founder- and management-owners who want to remain invested in the continued success of their business. “Black Rock has been rapidly expanding, but what impressed us the most has been the management team’s ability to successfully navigate that growth while preserving BRC’s unique culture. We strongly believe in the vision the team has outlined and are excited to help support that growth” said Andrew Braithwaite, Managing Director, at The Cynosure Group.
The company continues to be led by its co-founders, Jeff Hernandez and Daniel Brand, as well as its recently appointed CEO, and long-time Black Rock member, Josh Pike. Post-transaction, Black Rock will continue to be majority controlled by its founders and executive management team.
About Black Rock Coffee Bar
Based in Portland, Oregon, Black Rock Coffee is a leading drive-thru oriented retail coffee chain with more than 70 stores (franchise and corporate-owned) operating across seven states along the west coast, southwest and mountain west regions. Historically concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Black Rock has since expanded into new high-growth markets including Arizona, Colorado and Texas.
In addition to BRC’s unique product line (including coffee and non-coffee based beverages) which aims to appeal to customers of all ages, the company seeks to maintain a unique culture-focused approach centered around local community engagement with the goal of creating a differentiated customer experience in a competitive market. Black Rock’s strong culture has led to a loyal and growing customer base in the markets in which it serves.
For more information, visit https://br.coffee/.
About The Cynosure Group
The Cynosure Group is an independent alternatives asset manager and advisor that makes long-term investments on behalf of families, foundations, and other like-minded institutions.
Cynosure’s direct investments target partnerships with management teams of profitable small to mid-sized companies who will remain meaningful owners of their business. By investing throughout the capital structure, making minority as well as control investments, and by providing long-term and or follow-on capital, Cynosure offers a differentiated solution.
For more information, visit www.cynosuregroup.com.
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