Amigos Announces Launch of 100% Employee Stock Ownership Plan

 June 19, 2017

(LINCOLN, NE) – Roger and Janice Moore opened the first Amigos restaurant in Lincoln, NE in June of 1980.  After 37 years in business, they are making an exciting ownership change that will affect the future of the company.

Amigos restaurants announced today that it has become a 100% employee-owned business by launching an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) where the eligible employees share beneficial ownership in the growth of the company.  “In researching succession plan options, an ESOP seemed like the right fit for our company,”  Moore said. “Amigos has always been a company with high-involvement ownership, but the bold move to form an ESOP takes ownership to an all new level that can seriously impact our people and our company’s culture.”

The move to an ESOP will not change the management structure of Amigos which is based in Lincoln.   Moore, who will continue in his current position as President, said, “The goals in forming the ESOP were to assure the continuation of Amigos, to keep making our company grow and be better, and to reward all the people who are doing the hard work.”   Under this plan, ownership of the company is held in the ESOP Trust, and all eligible employees will earn a yearly allocation. This is designed as a long-term retirement benefit, with the employees’ accounts increasing as the value of the business increases.

A banquet to celebrate Amigos becoming a 100% Employee Owned company was held on June 19^th at the Nebraska Club in downtown Lincoln. Pete Bromelkamp of TPI Hospitality in Minneapolis was the keynote speaker at the event, sharing the story of his own company’s ESOP experience and the success they have realized.

Amigos is a Nebraska original with 27 restaurants that are all located in the state of Nebraska.  The nine franchised locations will remain independently owned, while all corporate stores will be part of the ESOP.