Judge Sets the Table for Merger of Buffet Chains

Buffets Inc. said it completed its acquisition Friday of restaurant rival HomeTown Buffet Inc. after a federal judge in Utah denied a request by another chain, Anaheim-based CKE Restaurants, for an injunction blocking the deal.

CKE had filed a lawsuit in August alleging that the two companies conspired to squeeze CKE out of certain Western markets in which CKE has exclusive rights to develop and operate HomeTown Buffet restaurants. Buffets and HomeTown denied the charges.

Buffets said the judge, Dee Benson, also rejected motions to terminate CKE’s franchise as a condition of the merger.

Buffets, of Eden Prairie, Minn., currently operates 252 Old Country buffet restaurants, and franchises six others. HomeTown, of San Diego, operates 76 restaurants, almost all under the Home Town Buffet nameplate, and franchises 19 others.