Austin-based hospitality company K&N Management has sold Mighty Fine Burgers Fries & Shakes, which has existed in the Greater Austin area for more than 10 years, to lifelong Austinites and restaurateurs Tony Ciola and Creed Ford, co-owners and founders of Tc4 & Co., the hospitality company behind Tony C’s Coal Fired Pizza and The League Kitchen & Tavern.

The burger chain operates out of five locations including one in Sunset Valley, Round Rock, North Austin and a food trailer in the Four Points, among others.

Creed told Community Impact Newspaper Jan. 5 that due in part to a quick transaction period, the purchase was made under a newly created entity, Mighty Fine Acquisition LLC.

While the purchase of Mighty Fine was made outside of Tc4 & Co., Creed said the chain will be considered a Tc4 & Co.-operated brand. The hospitality company will serve as a partner of Mighty Fine Acquisition and fully manage the entity, Creed said.

Despite the challenges the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created for restaurants, Ciola and Creed said they have been looking to expand their brand for some time. Creed noted he and Ciola were raised in the restaurant industry and have always had their sights set on the goal of building a regional, multiple-brand restaurant company.

Prior to the pandemic, Creed said, the duo began searching for local eateries that matched the Tc4 & Co. brand.

“We’ve always been wanting to grow,” Ciola said. “We love what we do—specifically, suburban neighborhood brands, which made Mighty Fine just a natural fit for the brand."

Tc4 & Co. was founded in 2011 and encompasses four Tony C’s locations, two of which opened amid the pandemic, and three locations of The League, with a fourth primed to open in Bee Cave’s Hill Country Galleria in February.

When the pandemic hit, Creed said the eateries pivoted operations to maximize revenue and, as a result, successfully retained a majority of its team members.

The purchase of Mighty Fine will increase Ciola and Creed’s employee pool to approximately 500 employees, according to Ciola, who added that he projects sales will reach nearly $40 million in 2021.

“We’re restaurant lifers, so we know we’re going to be in this business forever,” Ciola said. “[Mighty Fine] is a brand that did a great job operating and establishing in Austin, so just like The League and Tony C’s, it’s the brands that we want to hold onto and grow forever.”