Venture Construction Company

What Venture Construction Company does

Venture Construction Company is a privately held, employee-owned general contractor specializing in restaurant and retail construction. Founded in July 1969 by E. Ray Morris in Atlanta, GA, the firm has completed more than 19,331 construction projects across 46 states and is licensed in 47 states. The company operates through seven regional branch offices (Atlanta GA, Tampa FL, Greensboro NC, Nashville TN, Memphis TN, Richmond VA, Kansas City KS) coordinated under a corporate headquarters in Norcross (Atlanta area), GA. Its primary end customers are national and regional quick-service restaurant (QSR), fast casual, casual dining, and upscale dining chains, plus adjacent verticals including convenience/travel centers, drug stores, retail, institutional/education, and banks.

The firm's core offering is general contracting services for new builds, remodels, rebuilds, tenant finish-outs, and multi-location rollout programs. Project counts by segment include 10,323+ quick-serve restaurant projects (McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, Bojangles', Hardee's), 4,296+ casual dining projects (Outback Steakhouse/Bloomin' Brands, Applebee's, Cracker Barrel, Chili's, Olive Garden/Darden), 260+ fast casual projects (Chipotle, Panera Bread, Zoe's Kitchen), 207+ upscale dining projects (Fleming's, Maggiano's), and 1,500+ retail/service station projects (Love's Travel Stops, Racetrac, CVS, Starbucks). The company holds a 1979 Guinness World Record for fastest fast-food restaurant construction (Hardee's built in 9 days, 23 hours versus a typical 16-week cycle) and managed 142 simultaneous jobs across 24 states in September 2016.

The business model is project-based general contracting: revenue is earned on individual construction projects via competitive bidding or negotiated contracts with franchisees and corporate clients. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. In December 2015, the firm transitioned to 100% employee ownership through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Annual volume reached an all-time high of $292 million in 2016, growing from $30 million in 1983. The go-to-market relies on long-term preferred-vendor relationships with major franchisors (some spanning 35+ years), direct relationship management via the branch office network, an online Plan Room (ventureconstructionplans.com), and inbound bid-list intake. There are no resellers, distributors, or external channel partners.

Name

Venture Construction Company

Legal name

Venture Construction Company

Website

https://ventureconstruction.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Venture Construction Company is a privately held, employee-owned general contractor founded in 1969 that builds and remodels restaurants and retail facilities across 46 U.S. states, with deep specialization in quick-service and casual dining chains.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Construction Services

NAICS

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (23622)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

Keywords

• Commercial construction services
• Restaurant construction
• Retail construction
• General contracting
• Design-build construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Norcross

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Construction Project Contracts: Revenue is generated through general contracting fees on construction projects for restaurant and retail clients. Projects range from new ground-up builds to full remodels and tenant finish-outs. Revenue is project-based and non-recurring per client, though long-term client relationships drive repeat contract volume.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Venture Construction Company is a commercial general contractor that delivers new construction, remodels, renovations, and build-outs for restaurant and retail chains. The firm provides pre-construction planning, design coordination, general contracting, and construction management services across multiple U.S. states for multi-location commercial clients.

Product overview

Venture Construction Company is a general contractor specializing in restaurant and retail construction since 1969, offering a comprehensive portfolio of construction services across multiple segments. The company operates as a single unified construction service with specialized divisions for quick serve restaurants (McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell with 10,323+ projects), fast casual dining (Chipotle, Panera, Zoe's Kitchen with 260 projects), casual dining (Outback, Applebee's, Cracker Barrel, Chili's with 4,296 projects), and upscale dining (Fleming's, Maggiano's with 207 projects). Beyond restaurants, the company provides retail construction (778 projects), institutional building (23 projects), drug store construction (743 projects including CVS, Walgreens), service station/convenience store construction (735 projects including Love's, Quik Trip, Racetrac), office building construction (165 projects), day care center construction (78 projects), bank construction (63 projects), and service center construction (84 projects). The company is licensed in 47 states with 7 branch offices coordinating work across the United States, having completed over 19,000 construction projects totaling since inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Restaurant Construction Services End-to-end general contracting for restaurant chains, including new builds, remodels, interior build-outs, and multi-location rollout programs for national and regional restaurant brands.
• Retail Construction Services General contracting and construction management for retail tenants and retail chains, including ground-up stores, tenant improvements, remodels, and capital maintenance programs.
• Design-Build Construction Services Single-source design and construction delivery that integrates architectural coordination, budgeting, scheduling, and construction under one contract for commercial clients.
• Pre-Construction and Construction Management Services Pre-construction planning, cost estimating, value engineering, scheduling, and construction management services delivered to commercial clients to support planning and execution of build programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Guinness World Record: built a Hardee's restaurant in 9 days 23 hours, compared to the normal 16-week construction period, demonstrating dramatic time and cost savings.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ARCO Construction: National design-build GC specializing in commercial and restaurant construction with comparable project types (QSR, retail, convenience) and a similar focus on speed-to-market rollouts for franchised concepts.
• Welbro Building Corporation: Florida-based general contractor focused on restaurant, retail, and hospitality construction, closely mirroring Venture's core offering for QSR and casual dining chains in the Southeast.
• The Korte Company: Founded in 1958, The Korte Company is a design-build general contractor with a strong portfolio in restaurant and retail construction, very similar in size, history, and vertical specialization to Venture Construction.
• W.G. Mills: Sarasota, FL-based general contractor specializing in restaurant construction for national chains, overlapping closely with Venture's QSR/casual dining portfolio and regional Southeast footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Whiting-Turner Contracting Company: Large national general contractor with extensive commercial, retail, and hospitality construction; competes for national account buildouts and could displace Venture on larger enterprise programs.
• Graycor: Large national general contractor with restaurant, retail, and commercial construction practices; broader portfolio but directly competes with Venture for chain rollout programs.
• Gilbane Building Company: Major national construction services firm with restaurant and commercial building practices; competes with Venture for larger enterprise rollout programs while serving many other verticals.
• Manhattan Construction Group: Oklahoma City-based national general contractor with broad commercial and institutional capabilities, including hospitality and restaurant work that intersects with Venture's project types.

Regional players

• Brasfield & Gorrie: Birmingham, AL-headquartered general contractor with a strong Southeast regional presence and significant commercial/restaurant construction work, overlapping with Venture's Atlanta base and regional franchisee relationships.
• Hoar Construction: Birmingham, AL-based general contractor with a portfolio spanning retail, hospitality, and commercial builds in the Southeast, directly competing with Venture for projects in the same geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ventureconstructionco
• Facebookfacebook.com/Venture-Construction-109826257293109
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/venture-construction-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Venture Construction Company