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Venture Capital - Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Colorado's Smashburger Raises $15M From Quiznos Founder

We are here to cover new tech ventures but more often than not our minds are on food and beverages so forgive us for straying but hey this deal does involve significant venture capital. Denver, CO-based
Smashburger has raised $15M from Consumer Capital Partners which is led by Richard Schaden, who was founder and chairman of Quiznos.

The near term business plan calls for the development of 500 restaurants in 30 markets that will be owned by Smashburger as well as through a few joint venture and franchise partners.

We have to say that we haven't visited the state of Colorado in some time so we haven't had the chance to sample the Smashburger. We are not big fans of Quiznos and the name Smashburger doesn't sit well. But photos of the burger are strong as is the menu. Reviews on the net are mixed but mostly positive. Negatives focus mostly on terrible customer service. In-N-Out is the gold standard of burger quality and customer service, and that's no opinion that's a fact so maybe they should hire away.

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