Rooted in Real Estate
We love the restaurant industry, but it’s not where our journey began. Our founder, David Grieve, got his start in the real estate business. In 1992, David founded A&C Ventures — a private real estate investment firm now based in Sonoma, CA. It wasn’t until 2006, after many years of building a successful real estate company, that David met our President, SG Ellison. Fast forward to today, and we’re one of the largest quick service franchisees in the nation.
DRG Through the Years
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1992
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2003
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2006
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2009
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2012
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2013
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2014
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2015
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2015
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2019
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2020a
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2020b
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2021a
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2021b
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2022a
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2022b
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2023a
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2023b
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1992
A&C Ventures, Inc. is founded by David Grieve to invest primarily in commercial real estate sale-leaseback deals.
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2003
A&C Ventures, Inc. moves its headquarters from downtown San Francisco to the Sonoma wine country and sets up shop in a historic landmark building on the town plaza.
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2006
David and SG Ellison meet during a CVS Pharmacy real estate transaction in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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2009
Post-financial crisis, David and friend Andrew Cherng, founder of Panda Express, invest in a portfolio of distressed real estate assets.
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2012
David and SG form a partnership to provide equity for two former Taco Bell executives to acquire 29 corporate stores and five pieces of real estate in southern California.
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2013
SG founds First Street Development (FSD) along with David and Andrew Cherng as the lead investment partners. FSD becomes one of a limited number of build-to-suit providers for Taco Bell and its franchisees.
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2014
DRG acquires 72 Taco Bell restaurants in the Bay Area from Dolan Foster Enterprises and 13 Taco Bells in Napa and Sonoma from Aksan. We name the combined entity Golden Gate Bell.
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2015
DRG acquires 63 Taco Bell restaurants in Nevada from Las-Cal, including all of the Taco Bells in Las Vegas. We name the entity Silver State Bell.
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2015
DRG opens Taco Bell’s second Cantina-branded restaurant in downtown San Francisco across from the ballpark.
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2016
DRG builds Taco Bell’s flagship Las Vegas Strip Cantina, the highest volume restaurant in the system, complete with a wedding chapel.
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2017
As DRG expands east, we acquire 39 Taco Bell restaurants from KC Bell. We name the entity Royal City Bell.
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2018
DRG adds 16 corporate Taco Bell restaurants to our Kansas City portfolio.
David and Kathleen Grieve join the Taco Bell Foundation Board, and through championing initiatives such as Round-Up, have since helped to quadruple funds going toward Live Más Scholarships and other educational causes.
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2019
DRG makes its first acquisition in the Arby’s brand with the addition of 15 restaurants in Nevada and one in California. We name the entity DRG Meats.
To the approval of Taco Bell fans worldwide, we transform our Pacifica Beach restaurant into a Cantina, complete with fireside dining.
By year-end 2019, the DRG portfolio reaches 232 restaurants, of which we have built 18 and remodeled 61.
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2020
WE ARE ONE DRG! We engage in a cultural transformation to become one family across all restaurants and brands.
In response to the COVID crisis, DRG’s Project Karma provides meals to thousands of front line workers in our communities. And to help team members through the uncertainty of a pandemic, we also give out $2.4 million companywide in “HeroBonus” checks.
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2020 (cont.)
We‘re excited to boost our stake in the meaty sandwich brand Arby’s, adding six locations throughout Alaska to the company’s growing portfolio.
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2021
In the company’s largest acquisition to date, DRG adds 75 southern California Taco Bells to its portfolio, bringing the brand’s total count to 296.
On the construction side, DRG unveils 106 remodels and 35 new builds. Most exciting is the opening of two more Taco Bell cantinas. On the West coast, the relaxed Danville Cantina opens with an outdoor patio, full bar, yard games and a fire pit. DRG introduces the cantina concept to Kansas City with a sports-focused location for fans to catch the big game, boasting a full bar, 19 tvs, colorful sports murals and reservable VIP rooms.
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2021 (Cont.)
DRG focuses growth in the Arby’s brand in the states of Alaska and Nevada, building three new restaurants in Las Vegas, Henderson and Fairbanks, with plans to build more.
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2022
DRG opens its first digitally advanced, order-on-the-app Go Mobile Taco Bell, bringing dual drive-thru lanes to the West coast.
In Las Vegas, DRG celebrates the opening of its new headquarters and Worldwide Restaurant Support Center (RSC) to better support DRG Taco Bell and Arby’s operations spanning multiple markets while simultaneously expanding its maintenance and payroll teams.
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2022 (cont.)
DRG grows to 300 restaurants! And adds seventh cantina in Newport Beach to its portfolio, with plans to spruce it up with the DRG touch!
Also, once again, DRG leads the way in tech and innovation when our south San Francisco Taco Bell becomes the FIRST quick service restaurant (QSR) to offer electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, a solar carport and electric battery storage!
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2023
It’s an exciting year for restaurant growth! DRG becomes the highest grossing franchisee across the entire Taco Bell system and a top 10 biggest franchise in the U.S. with 33 new Taco Bells (including the acquisition of 25 in San Diego and eight new builds).
We also celebrated the opening of: our eighth cantina in San Jose’s Oakridge Mall, our state-of-the-art Ghost Kitchen in San Francisco boasting food-delivery robots; and Missouri’s first drive-through-only mobile and delivery Taco Bell.
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