New owners could make Rockford-based Beefaroo a household name
ROCKFORD — A popular Rockford-based restaurant chain is no longer owned by the family that founded it in 1967, and its new owners have their eyes set on franchising. It may not be news to those who work at Beefaroo or are close to the DeBruler and Vitale families, but it may come as a surprise to the community at large that the original owners are now "directors." Melissa DeBruler Pratt, one of the three daughters and one son of the company founders, confirmed this week that the families sold the seven-restaurant operation to a private equity firm in Dallas, Texas, two years ago.
Source: rrstar.com