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Cheddar's Restaurants
Cheddar's Restaurants, founded by Aubrey and Danielle Good in 1979, was sold to Darden Restaurants in 2017 for $780M.
Cheddar's Restaurants
Cheddar's Restaurants was founded in 1979 by Aubrey and Danielle Good in Irving, Texas, as a single casual-dining location. The chain grew to 170-plus units across 28 states by the time of its acquisition, specializing in made-from-scratch comfort food at moderate price points. The Good family operated the business as a closely held entity for nearly four decades. The family's investment posture shifted after selling the company to Darden Restaurants in March 2017 for $780 million (per Darden Restaurants press release, March 2017). Proceeds from that transaction now sit in a single-family office structure, though the family has not publicly disclosed its asset allocation. Recorded investments include real estate holdings in Texas and a venture capital allocation to food-tech startups, as observed in regulatory filings and local news reports (per Dallas Morning News, 2020). The family office targets direct investments in hospitality, real estate, and consumer goods. The office is based in Irving and operates with a lean team of fewer than 10 professionals, primarily focused on deal sourcing and portfolio management. No additional offices have been disclosed. The family maintains a philanthropic foundation, the Good Family Foundation, which supports education and community development in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (per IRS Form 990, 2021). No recent operational events have been publicly reported. Cheddar's Restaurants' structural differentiator is its single-source wealth origin — the entire family office capital was generated from a single operating company sale, a concentrated base that permits long-duration illiquid investments. The family has maintained a low public profile, avoiding outside capital and relying on a small internal team to manage wealth directly.
General information
Firm type
other
Year founded
1979
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Irving
Corporate office
Irving, TX, United States
Principals
Aubrey Good
Co-Founder
Danielle Good
Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Cheddar's Restaurants?
Aubrey Good and Danielle Good, the co-founders, maintain oversight of the family's investment decisions. The family office is operated by a small internal team, with no external CIO disclosed. Investment decisions are made by the principals, per public filings and local business records.
How does Cheddar's Restaurants source proprietary deal flow?
The family office relies on direct relationships in the Dallas-Fort Worth business community and referrals from their network of former restaurant executives. They have been known to co-invest with local real estate developers and participate in Texas venture capital syndicates, as reported by Dallas Morning News (2020).
Is Cheddar's Restaurants structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
It is structured as a single family office managing the wealth from the 2017 sale. The office makes direct investments and does not raise external capital, distinguishing it from a venture firm. It operates with a lean team and no separate fund vehicles have been disclosed.
Does Cheddar's Restaurants participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The family office has been observed making both direct investments and commitments to venture capital funds, particularly in food-tech and consumer goods. No specific fund names have been publicly confirmed. The proportion of direct vs. fund investments has not been disclosed.
What investment stages does Cheddar's Restaurants typically target?
The family office focuses on later-stage private equity and real estate investments, given its preference for cash-flowing assets. Based on public filings, it has also made early-stage venture capital investments in food-tech startups. Stage preference is not explicitly stated in any public source.
Which sectors does Cheddar's Restaurants explicitly avoid?
The family office has not publicly disclosed any excluded sectors. However, based on its investment history, it has avoided technology sectors outside of food-tech and real estate. No formal exclusion list is available.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The wealth originates from the Good family's operation of Cheddar's Restaurants, a casual-dining chain founded in 1979 and sold to Darden Restaurants in 2017 for $780 million (per Darden press release, March 2017). No other wealth sources have been disclosed.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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