Thompson Street Capital Partners owns Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, the restaurant brand founded in Wichita, Kansas. The private equity firm acquired the business in 2021 from its founders and their families.
That does not mean the investment firm owns every restaurant building or operates every counter. Many locations are run by franchisees, who own and manage their individual businesses under agreements with the brand. Here’s how the parent company, franchise operators, and original founders fit together—and how to tell who runs a particular location.
who owns freddy’s frozen custard today?
Thompson Street Capital Partners is the owner of the Freddy’s restaurant brand and its parent business. It is a private equity firm, meaning it invests in privately held companies rather than selling shares of those businesses on a public stock exchange. The firm acquired Freddy’s in 2021.
Freddy’s is therefore not a publicly traded company whose ownership you can track through a stock ticker. The chain operates through a corporate business that manages the brand and supports its restaurant network. Individual restaurants may be owned and run by separate franchise operators.
That distinction matters because “Who owns Freddy’s?” can refer to two different things: the company that owns the brand, or the person or business responsible for a specific restaurant. Thompson Street Capital Partners owns the brand-level business; a local franchisee may own or operate a particular location.
What changed when the founders sold the company?
Freddy’s began in Wichita, Kansas, in 2002. The founders were brothers Bill and Randy Simon and their business partner Scott Redler. They named the restaurant after the brothers’ father, Freddy Simon, whose values and favorite foods helped inspire the concept.
In 2021, the founders and their families sold the company to Thompson Street Capital Partners. That changed who owned the parent business, but it did not erase the founders’ role in creating the chain or automatically change the owner of every local restaurant.
A sale of a parent company is different from a sale of each location. The brand can change hands while independently operated restaurants continue under franchise agreements. Existing operators may keep running their restaurants, subject to the terms and requirements that apply to their businesses.
The acquisition also did not turn Freddy’s into a public company. Private ownership means the business is not required to provide the same regular public shareholder reports as a publicly listed corporation. That can make details such as the purchase price or the firm’s exact ownership stake harder to find in public sources.
Who owns the individual Freddy’s restaurants?
Many Freddy’s restaurants are franchises. A franchisee is an individual or company authorized to use a brand’s name, menu, and operating system in exchange for following the franchise agreement. The franchisee usually manages the restaurant’s local staff and day-to-day business.
Some locations may be operated by the company or an affiliated business, while others belong to franchise groups that run multiple restaurants. Do not assume every store has the same owner. A local operator can be responsible for a location without owning the Freddy’s name or the wider chain.
Franchise arrangements generally set standards for matters such as the menu, branding, service, and restaurant operations. Those standards help customers recognize the same chain across different towns. They do not mean the parent company directly employs every restaurant worker or handles every local decision.
Nor does a franchisee necessarily own the land or building where a restaurant stands. The operator may lease the property, own it, or operate under a different arrangement. Restaurant ownership, real estate ownership, and brand ownership are separate questions.
How the different ownership roles compare
| Role | What it owns or controls | Typical responsibility | Best way to think about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Street Capital Partners | The parent business that owns the Freddy’s brand | Investment ownership at the company level | The brand-level owner |
| Freddy’s corporate business | Brand systems and company operations | Supporting the chain and its franchise network | The organization behind the restaurants |
| Franchisee | A local restaurant business or operating rights | Running one or more individual locations | The local operator |
| Landlord or property owner | The site or building, where separately owned | Leasing or maintaining the property | Not necessarily the restaurant owner |
This comparison helps clear up a common misconception: the name on the sign does not identify the legal owner of that particular store. It identifies the brand, which can be owned separately from the local operating business and the restaurant property.
What does Thompson Street Capital Partners do?
Thompson Street Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm. Firms of this kind invest in private companies and may work with company leaders on growth, operations, or future business plans. Its ownership of Freddy’s is an investment at the parent-company level, not a sign that the firm personally runs each restaurant.
That distinction is useful when interpreting announcements about expansion or company leadership. A parent-company owner can set broad priorities, while corporate managers and franchisees handle different parts of the business. The local operator still has responsibility for the restaurant’s everyday execution within the brand’s rules.
Private equity ownership also does not mean that every menu decision comes directly from the investment firm. A restaurant chain has teams responsible for operations and brand management, and franchise agreements define what local operators must follow. Unless a specific company announcement identifies who made a decision, it is safer not to attribute every change to the investor.
Is Freddy’s publicly traded?
No. Freddy’s is privately owned under Thompson Street Capital Partners, so there is no public Freddy’s stock ticker for individual investors to buy. The firm itself is also a private investment firm, not a publicly traded parent company.
People sometimes confuse a well-known chain with a public corporation because its restaurants are visible in many communities. But having many locations does not make a company public. Publicly traded companies sell shares on an exchange and publish required disclosures for investors; private companies do not offer ordinary public shares in the same way.
Private ownership can also limit what is easy to confirm about the business. A press release or company statement may disclose a leadership change or expansion, but it may not provide the kind of financial detail found in a public company’s filings. Avoid treating estimates or unsourced online claims about a private company’s value as confirmed facts.
How to find the owner of a specific location
If you need to identify the business operating a particular restaurant—for a customer service issue, job application, invoice, or business inquiry—look for the location’s legal operator rather than assuming the parent company is the right contact.
- Check the receipt. The legal business name may appear near the top or bottom, though the format varies by location.
- Look at the restaurant’s posted information. A business license or required notice may identify the operating company or responsible business entity.
- Contact the location directly. Ask for the name of the franchise operator or the appropriate manager if you need to reach the local business.
- Use official corporate contact channels for brand-wide matters. Questions about company policies, the brand, or a chain-level issue may be better directed to Freddy’s corporate support.
- Check local business records if you need a formal legal name. State or local business registries may list entities, but a similar name alone does not prove that a company operates a particular restaurant.
A store locator can help you find an address and contact details, but it may not reveal who owns the operating company. For a formal matter, verify the entity through reliable business documents or the relevant official registry. This practical step can save time when the local restaurant and brand headquarters handle different types of requests.
Common questions about Freddy’s ownership
Did the founders still own Freddy’s after 2021?
The founders and their families sold the company to Thompson Street Capital Partners in 2021. They are recognized as the people who created the chain, but the reported change in ownership means they should not be described as its current owners.
Does Thompson Street Capital Partners own every restaurant?
No. The firm owns the parent business and brand, while many locations are run by franchisees. A franchisee may own the local operating company, but the details can differ from one restaurant to another.
Is every location a franchise?
Not necessarily. Restaurant chains can operate some locations directly and franchise others. A particular store’s arrangement is best confirmed through its operator or official business information rather than inferred from the chain’s overall model.
Is Freddy’s owned by its namesake, Freddy Simon?
No. Freddy Simon was the father of founders Bill and Randy Simon, and the restaurant was named in his honor. The name does not mean he owns the modern chain.
Can someone buy shares in Freddy’s?
Not through a public stock exchange. Freddy’s is privately owned, so it does not have a publicly traded stock ticker for ordinary investors to purchase. Any private investment opportunity would be separate from buying public shares and should be checked carefully through legitimate financial and legal channels.
What to keep in mind about ownership updates
Ownership can change, especially in privately held companies, and online pages may remain outdated after a transaction. For the clearest current answer, look for recent company announcements or credible business reporting that identifies the parent company and date of any sale.
Keep the question specific. If you want to know who owns the brand, look for the parent company. If you want to know who handles a local complaint or employs staff at a particular restaurant, ask for the location’s operator. If you want to know who owns the building, property records are a separate source.
Those are three different ownership questions, and they can have three different answers. The most reliable answer comes from matching the source to the issue: corporate information for the brand, local business details for the restaurant, and property records for the site.
Thompson Street Capital Partners owns the Freddy’s parent business and brand, following its acquisition of the company in 2021. Many restaurants, however, are operated by local franchisees, so the brand owner may not be the owner of the location you visit.
If you need to contact a particular restaurant, check its receipt or ask the location for its legal operating business. For a brand-wide question, use Freddy’s corporate contact channels.