Red Robin in Wake Forest moves to franchise owner Op Burgers

The Red Robin at 11420 Capital Blvd. in Wake Forest is changing hands. The Town of Wake Forest’s new-business list for September 2026 records “Op Burgers NC LLC (owner change)” at that address, the restaurant Red Robin opened at the corner of Common Oaks Drive in 2007.

Op Burgers is the franchise group that agreed in June to buy 69 company-owned Red Robin restaurants in eight states, North Carolina among them, for $62.5 million. The restaurant keeps the Red Robin name. In a September 1, 2026 news release, Red Robin said its new franchise owners operate the restaurants “under the same Red Robin brand guests have trusted for almost six decades.”

What the town’s September list shows

The town’s new-business page lists businesses that “have been issued a building permit to operate in Wake Forest” in a given month. Op Burgers NC LLC is one of 12 entries in the September 2026 section, and it is the only one marked as an owner change. The 11420 Capital Blvd. address does not appear in any other month on the list.

Red Robin’s releases on the deal do not list individual restaurants or say how many of the 69 are in North Carolina.

The $62.5 million Op Burgers deal

Red Robin, based in Englewood, Colo., announced the Op Burgers agreement on June 15, 2026, along with a smaller deal in Oregon and Washington. The company said both sales were expected to close in the second half of 2026. Op Burgers is a portfolio company of Alexandrite Management, which Red Robin describes as a special situations private investment firm. Op Burgers’ management team is made up of multi-unit restaurant operators, according to the release. “We have long been impressed by Red Robin’s commitment to great food and great service,” Op Burgers said in the announcement.

Red Robin agreed to sell 116 company-owned restaurants to three franchise groups in 2026, according to its September 1 release:

• Op Burgers, LLC agreed to buy 69 restaurants in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia for $62.5 million.
• Kuber Oregon and Kuber Washington, led by Aman Sharma, bought 17 restaurants in Oregon and Washington for $10 million.
• Evergreen Dining bought 30 restaurants in Washington and western Idaho for $23.5 million.

The Op Burgers purchase is closing in stages. Red Robin said 61 of the 69 restaurants had changed hands for $55.9 million as of September 1, 2026. The remaining eight are expected to transfer by the end of Red Robin’s 2026 fiscal year, once the applicable liquor licenses move to the new owner. Across all three buyers, Red Robin counted 108 restaurants sold for $89.4 million, with about $6.6 million more expected from the last eight.

The sales are part of what Red Robin calls its First Choice Plan, and the company said the proceeds would go toward paying down debt. On October 5, 2026, Red Robin announced it had completed a $115 million refinancing, made up of a $25 million revolving line of credit and a $90 million term loan, with JPMorgan Chase Bank as administrative agent. The company said the new facility repaid all borrowings under its prior credit agreement. “Completing our refinancing is an important step forward for Red Robin,” CEO Dave Pace said in the release.

In the Triangle, What Now reported on July 16, 2026 that Red Robin planned to close its Crossroads Plaza restaurant in Cary.

19 years on Capital Boulevard

The Wake Forest restaurant opened at 11 a.m. on June 25, 2007, according to a Red Robin news release dated June 27, 2007. The release gave these details:

• The restaurant opened with 6,330 square feet and seats for 208 guests.
• It was Red Robin’s 12th restaurant in North Carolina.
• The other 11 were in Charlotte, which had three, plus Raleigh, Apex, Cary, Fayetteville, Durham, Greensboro, Mooresville and Wilmington.
• The opening menu listed 22 gourmet burgers along with Bottomless Steak Fries, salads, soups and entrees.

During opening week, June 25 through July 1, 2007, Red Robin gave 50 cents from every gourmet burger sold to the Wake Forest Fire Department, Inc. The total came to $2,831, which went toward firefighting equipment, according to a Red Robin news release from July 2007. Fire Chief Jerry Swift said the money would “help us provide our firefighters with equipment.”

The Red Robin in Wake Forest takes online orders for pickup, delivery and catering, according to the company’s website, which lists the restaurant at 11420 Capital Blvd., Wake Forest, NC 27587.