Damon Chandik is co-head of the Consumer Group and leads Restaurant investment banking at Piper Sandler. He is focused on providing investment banking, mergers & acquisitions and debt advisory services to consumer companies. He has more than 20 years of investment banking experience, including public equity and debt offerings, private capital raising, mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations.
Prior to joining Piper Sandler in 2003, Damon worked at Montgomery Securities (now BofA Securities) and Thomas Weisel Partners (now Stifel) focusing on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance for consumer and restaurant companies. Before beginning his banking career, he worked in management and operations for Fresh Choice Restaurants.
Damon holds a bachelor’s degree in finance with honors from California State University. He was named one of the 50 most influential people in the restaurant industry by Nation’s Restaurant News in 2014.
Selected recent transaction experience includes: Dutch Bros (IPO active bookrunner), Portillo’s (IPO active bookrunner), First Watch (IPO bookrunner), USHG Acq. Corp. investment in Panera (exclusive advisor to USHG), Del Taco (exclusive sellside advisor), J. Alexander’s (exclusive sellside advisor), DIG (exclusive advisor), Habit (exclusive sellside advisor), Café Zupas (sole debt placement agent), Zoe’s Kitchen (exclusive sellside advisor), Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group (left lead public equity bookrunner), Bravo Brio (exclusive sellside advisor), Upward Projects (exclusive sellside advisor), Café Rio (exclusive sellside advisor), Checkers (exclusive sellside advisor), Intelligentsia (exclusive sellside advisor), The Habit (IPO left lead bookrunner), Portillo Restaurant Group (exclusive sellside advisor), Zoës Kitchen (IPO/Follow-on joint lead bookrunner), Dave & Busters (IPO joint lead bookrunner), TGI Friday’s (exclusive sellside advisor), Noodles (joint bookrunner/lead sellside advisor), Piada (exclusive financial advisor), and Lazy Dog (exclusive financial advisor)