Tumbleweed Southwest Grill
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1975 in New Albany, Indiana |
| Founders | George R. Keller Linda Keller |
| Headquarters | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
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Key people
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Mathew Higgins President and CEO |
| Products | Steak, chicken, and seafood cooked in a Southwest Mesquite style |
| Revenue | $61 million (2006) |
| $60 million (2006) | |
| Website | www |
Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill & Margarita Bar (formerly Tumbleweed Southwest Grill) is a chain restaurant based in Louisville, Kentucky.
Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill & Margarita Bar serves Southwest-style foods. George R. Keller and his wife Linda opened the original restaurant in 1975 in New Albany, Indiana (directly across the Ohio River from Louisville), across the road from New Albany High School. Then in 1978, Linda converted her parents' Hillside Manor restaurant and bar on Mellwood Avenue in Louisville into a Tumbleweed. This location became the flagship for what was to become a chain of restaurants.
Shortly after, the restaurant began expansion to become a regional chain. It now operates over 30 locations in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, including company-owned and franchise locations. Locations in Illinois and Wisconsin closed in 2008 after the local franchise owner filed for bankruptcy.
In 1995, the Kellers sold the business to sixty local area investors for US$9.8 million and an additional US$1 million in a clause not to compete against the company's new owners. The company then became a publicly traded company to help fuel its expansion in the Midwest and overseas markets. John Butorac, Jr., took over as president of the company, he was also the former vice president for Chi-Chi's.
In 2002, Terrance Smith, CEO of the establishment, was seeking ownership of the company with two other investors. However, on December 18, 2007, Terrance Smith resigned as President and CEO after seven years when the views of the company's board of directors began to diverge from his views. Matthew Higgins became the new President and CEO of the company, with his twin brother, Michael Higgins, as COO. Financially, the company that the Higgins from Smith was not doing very well so Tummbleweed was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2009. At the time of filing, the firm had 37 company-owned or franchised locations left in the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky and had one licensed location each in Germany and Kuwait. The company was able to emerge from bankruptcy the following year. Still, the company was not performing as well as it would like was forced to close 8 out of 32 remaining locations in the tri-state area in 2014 after previously withdrawing from overseas operations.
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Wikipedia