PizzaRev Acquired by VC Firm

Fast-casual franchisor PizzaRev has been acquired by Cleveland Avenue, a venture capital firm founded by a former McDonald’s Corp. executive. The Westlake Village restaurant chain, founded by music industry executives Nicholas Eckerman and Irv Zuckerman in 2012, announced the transaction Monday in a joint statement with Cleveland Avenue. The dining-focused investment firm, based in Chicago, will take a majority stake in PizzaRev; further terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We’re attracted to PizzaRev because of its potential for scale and growth,” Cleveland Avenue founder Don Thompson, who served as chief executive of McDonald’s Corp. from 2012 to 2015, said in a statement. “This is more than an investment, this is a partnership.” PizzaRev has expanded significantly since 2013, when casual dining chain Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. invested in the company. PizzaRev since has grown from three restaurants to more than 50, and is in the process of developing 200 more. The company last year partnered with a restaurant group in Mexico to develop 20 locations south of the border, the third of which opened in March.