Volunteer Capital sells back its Wendy's franchise; longtime franchisee turns focus to its J. Alexander's casual dinner-house concept

Volunteer Capital Corp. sold back its 52 of its 58 franchised Wendy's-units to Wendy's International Inc. for $28 million and the assumption of some debts in a deal that ends a 25-year-long relationship between the two firms. The other six units either will be sold to other restaurant companies or will be closed down. Volunteer will concentrate on its 9-unit J. Alexander chain, which is a higher-end, casual-themed dinner house concept.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Volunteer Capital, one of Wendy's International's oldest and largest operators, is selling its franchise back to the franchisor to concentrate on its proprietary growth concept, J. Alexander's. [...]