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Chicago-based Protein Bar & Kitchen will be acquired by Founders Table Restaurant Group, the holding company of Chopt and Dos Toros Taqueria, the companies announced Thursday.
The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will boost Protein Bar’s plans to expand company-owned locations across the U.S., as well as in nontraditional venues like health care centers, airports, universities and transportation hubs.
Protein Bar, founded in 2009, was a pioneer in protein shakes and smoothies then expanded to healthy fast casual salads, wraps and more.
Since opening its first storefront at 235 S. Franklin St., across from the Willis Tower, Protein Bar has grown to 15 sites and four licensed locations in the Chicago area and airports in New York City, Boise and Salt Lake City.
Protein Bar is headquartered in the Loop and has about 125 employees. Its headcount will not change after the acquisition, according to the company.
The brand recently launched a franchising program, and it has plans for new locations in Indiana and the Chicago suburbs in 2026. Franchises in Indianapolis are expected to open in spring and Downers Grove in the summer. More agreements are in the works, the company said.
“With an established platform and 30 franchised and licensed locations already in development, we believe the support of the Founders Table platform will allow us to successfully accelerate our growth,” Protein Bar CEO Jeff Drake said in a news release.
Drake and Chief Operating Officer Jared Cohen will remain with Protein Bar.
“We see enormous opportunity in premium and blended beverages, and have been following [Protein Bar’s] success over the past several years,” Chopt CEO Nick Marsh said in a news release. “Over the past eight years, Jeff and Jared have built an extremely profitable model to support the growth of the [Protein Bar].”
In 2024, Protein Bar opened in New York’s LaGuardia Airport as co-tenants with Chopt and Dos Toros.
Fast casual restaurants have been seeing sluggish business.
“Momentum for fast-casual players will continue to slow as the segment hits maturity,” according to research firm Technomic’s 2026 U.S. food service trends report. “After doubling in size over the last decade, growth is becoming increasingly difficult for the fast-casual segment.”
Matt Matros founded Protein Bar after losing 50 pounds on a high-protein diet. He sold the company to private equity firm L Catterton in 2013.
Chopt Creative Salad Co. has about 100 locations, mostly in New York, as well as Maryland, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and other states, according to its website.
Dos Toros Taqueria has about 20 locations, mostly in New York and four in Washington D.C., according to its website. Founders Table is based in Rye, New York.
