A Southern Season sold to group of investors

Michael Barefoot was a foodie before being a foodie was cool.

When he opened the doors of A Southern Season for the first time in 1975, he brought a passion for specialty food before that term even existed.

His love of rare food caught on — and on August 1, Barefoot sold A Southern Season to a group of investors with plans to eventually expand the brand throughout the Southeast.

Barefoot said the sale was a big development for a store he never expected to move beyond its original 800-square-foot location and practically unheard-of mission.

“At that time, any cheese besides cheddar was hard to find,” Barefoot said.

He said the store has grown organically with customer demand — and today, besides a 60,000-square-foot University Mall location, the store also offers a catalog and bustling online business.

Brian Fauver, one of the investors, said more changes are coming to the store under the new ownership, including an improved website and a return to old uniforms. But he said the overall feel of the store will remain.

Deciding to sell

Barefoot said A Southern Season has realized all of his hopes for the shop he calls his “baby” — and the time has come for him to make an exit.

“I am 61 and until very recently I have been very successful at never looking in the mirror and saying, ‘What is your exit plan, old fella?’” he said.

He said his growing desire to pursue other endeavors and an inability to keep up with customer demand in the face of a dragging economy prompted him to sell.

He said the store has seen slower sales during the recession, which has kept it from customer-requested improvements.

A group of Carrboro and Chapel Hill-based investors called TC Capital Fund purchased the store.

“All of these investors are either local residents or have really close ties to Chapel Hill,” said Barefoot, who will remain at the store for a 5-year transition period.

Barefoot said Clay Hamner, a professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University and a loyal customer, first approached him about investing in 2008, and the professor’s persistence won out.

Planning to expand

Larry Shaw, the company’s new president, said the brand will continue its food-centered mission as it considers expanding in other cities throughout the Southeast.

“This is a great business,” Shaw said.

“This is a very strong brand and a very strong platform,” he said. “The plan is not to create a 200- or 100-store type platform.”

Shaw said the expansion timeline remains uncertain, but the investors will seek affluent cities with tourists and a passion for good food — conditions the brand enjoys in Chapel Hill.