Toronto, ON – November 26, 2025 – Jigsaw Capital, Clear North Capital, and Gestalt Capital, through their holding company North Star Dining Group of Companies (“North Star Dining”), are pleased to announce the completion of their second major acquisition, adding 17 Five Guys Burgers & Fries restaurants in the Orlando, Florida area on September 29, 2025.
This acquisition is a step in North Star Dining’s ongoing roll-up of Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchisees, focused on acquiring small and mid-sized operators across North America. Following North Star Dining’s acquisition of 18 Minnesota Five Guys stores 15 months ago, this transaction increases the total number of stores owned to 35 and more than doubles both revenue and profitability.
The transaction aligns with the North Star Dining’s shared vision of investing in high-quality, scalable franchises with strong growth potential and holding them for the long term. By leveraging their collective expertise and resources, North Star Dining aims to foster growth, operational excellence, and long-term success, with aspirations to be the largest Five Guys franchisee in North America.
Jigsaw Capital, Clear North Capital, and Gestalt Capital have combined their resources and experience to support this endeavor and provide North Star Dining with the financial resources and business and M&A acumen needed to execute this exciting plan. With collectively over 75 years of private equity and public investing experience, combined with an all-star senior leadership team, North Star Dining is poised to build the largest and most profitable Five Guys franchise operation in North America.
The restaurants were acquired from Bengel’s Burgers and its owners Brandon and Charlie Bengel. This acquisition expands North Star Dining’s footprint across Minnesota and Florida, further advancing its strategy to consolidate and strengthen the Five Guys franchise system across North America.
BMO Commercial Bank and BMO Capital Partners continued their support of North Star Dining by providing financing and strategic guidance for this transaction, underscoring their ongoing commitment to the company’s growth plans.
North Star Dining’s leadership team includes three Five Guys veterans: Darven Erickson (CEO), Ryan Dussault (COO), and Aaron Meyer (CFO) — continue to drive the company’s growth and operational excellence. With decades of combined Five Guys experience, the team remains focused on disciplined expansion and building one of the largest and most respected Five Guys franchise organizations in North America.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the Orlando team and the Bengel family’s outstanding restaurants into the North Star Dining family,” said Darven Erickson. “This acquisition represents another important step toward our goal of building a best-in-class Five Guys platform with people centered leadership, strong regional operations, exceptional talent, and a shared commitment to quality and service.”