Bob Evans Was Sold to Red Lobster’s Owner. Guess What Happened.

▶ More Burnt Empires documentaries:    / @burntempires   In 1948, Bob Evans couldn’t find sausage good enough for his 12-stool diner in Gallipolis, Ohio, so he raised his own hogs and made it himself. His father told him to build the sausage shed with open ends, so it could store farm machinery if the business failed. The business didn’t fail. It became more than 500 restaurants, a billion-dollar company and a breakfast tradition for millions of American families. Then the farm was cut in half. A hedge fund fought its way onto the board. The restaurant buildings were sold and rented back. In 2017, the restaurants went to Golden Gate Capital, the same private equity firm that bought Red Lobster, for $565 million. Months later, the sausage business sold for about $1.5 billion. What happened to Bob Evans? Why are its restaurants closing while its sausage still fills grocery stores? And who decided to split the company in two? This is the real story. Every empire has an arsonist. Subscribe to Burnt Empires for the real story behind the brands you grew up with.