From Enslaved Roots to a Billion-Dollar Business: Warren Thompson Expands Restaurant Empire Nationwide

By Stacy M. Brown Senior Global Correspondent

Warren Thompson has seen just about everything in more than three decades of building one of the nation’s most successful Black-owned hospitality companies. Recessions. A pandemic. Industry-wide slowdowns. Now, a business climate that has turned hostile toward minority-owned companies.

Yet Thompson Restaurants is growing. The division of Thompson Hospitality reported a 12% year-over-year revenue increase in 2025, fueled by expansion across multiple brands, new concept development, and a strategy that leans into both opportunity and discipline. The company opened or converted 11 locations last year and is pushing toward a goal of 100 locations by the end of 2027.

“Our 2025 performance reflects our ability to scale thoughtfully while maintaining strong execution across a diverse set of concepts,” Alex Berentzen, chief operating officer of Thompson Restaurants, said in a statement. “The strength of our team and our operating model positions us well to support continued growth without compromising quality or guest experience.”

For Thompson, the strategy is grounded in something deeper than business cycles or expansion plans. It starts with a story passed down through generations. “My great-great-grandfather was born a slave, spent 30 years as a slave,” Thompson said during an interview on the Black Press’ “Let It Be Known.” “When he got his freedom, shortly after he started his own business, started a very successful blacksmith business, he lived to be one hundred and three. And so, the 73 years of freedom, he ran his own business.”

“That story shaped everything,” Thompson said. “My father told me I had no excuse for not being able to start a business, but more importantly, making it successful.” That mindset has carried the company through 33 years of operation and into its current phase of accelerated growth. “We’ve seen recessions. We’ve seen pandemics. We’ve seen everything you can,” Thompson said.

“Now we see the current administration that has attacked minority-owned businesses left and right. But this too will pass and we’ll come out of this stronger than when we entered.” The company’s portfolio includes brands such as Milk & Honey, Makers Union, Wiseguy Pizza, Matchbox, and Austin Grill. Milk & Honey continues to drive growth, adding five locations in 2025 and reaching 19 total.

Expansion is not limited to traditional restaurant spaces. Thompson Restaurants is moving deeper into airports, including new locations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. “We’ve been in airports for roughly 15 years,” Thompson said. “The way we enter the airport business is through partners that we license our brand to.” The company is also expanding beyond the Washington region into Virginia’s Tidewater area, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

“We go into the market with our contract side of the business and then we place restaurants close to those operations,” Thompson said. Even as the company scales, Thompson said consistency remains the foundation. “If the restaurant chain or restaurant group is not consistent, it will not last,” he said. “The reason McDonald’s has survived all of these years is that the Big Mac has tasted the same no matter where you are in the world.”

That standard is enforced across Thompson Restaurants’ brands. “We don’t allow the individual restaurant chefs to deviate from that,” Thompson said. At the same time, Thompson continues to build concepts rooted in personal history. Ms. Peach’s Southern Kitchen is a tribute to his grandmother. “She was a midwife in the southeast part of Virginia,” Thompson said. “Every time I walk in, I can feel her presence and a sense of responsibility to deliver excellence.”

Technology is also shaping the company’s future. “AI is going to help us better predict how many meals we have to prepare,” Thompson said. “If you can better predict demand using technology, then you can reduce waste.” The company’s loyalty program has already enrolled more than 200,000 members.

“Those people are far more likely to open the email and to respond by coming in,” Thompson said. Even with rapid expansion, Thompson said the company’s identity remains rooted in community engagement. “We challenge all of our managers to adopt churches in the area, to adopt schools in the area,” he said. “That’s where our neighbors are and that’s where our customers are. I do what I do every day because I love it,” Thompson said. “I love watching this company grow and I love watching people grow within the company.”