Personnel Updates:
American Blue Ribbon Holdings named Bill Streitberger as Chief People Officer.
Applebee’s named Peter Czizek as VP of Culinary and Menu Strategy; he was most recently at Dave & Buster’s.
Arby’s Restaurant Group appointed John Bowie as Senior VP of Operations for the Northeast Region; he was most recently President of U.S. Operations at Church’s Chicken.
Arby’s Restaurant Group Chief Marketing Officer Russ Klein resigned.
Barbeque Integrated (dba Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill) hired Jason Gronlund as VP of Culinary, succeeding Mark Bibby who is now VP of Culinary and Beverage/Executive Chef at Ruby Tuesday.
Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken reported that CEO Sheri Miksa has resigned; Ron Barber is the new Chairman and John Woods is the new Director of Operations.
Caesars Entertainment appointed Tom Arasi as President of Hospitality. Subsequently, Thomas M. Jenkin became Global President of Destination Markets and John W. R. Payne will become President of Central Markets and Partnership Development.
Caesars Entertainment named Bryan O’Shields as VP of Food and Beverage for Caesars Palace and Rio Hotel Casino.
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group promoted Susan Mason to VP of Franchise Operations and Todd Folbrecht to VP of Development for the Americas.
Cheddar’s promoted Ryan Hatfield to VP of Design and Construction.
Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Chief Development Officer Bob Blessing will retire 10/31/13. Chief Marketing Officer Mark Crumpacker will become Chief Marketing and Development Officer.
Church’s Chicken appointed Tony Moralejo as Chief Development Officer. He came to Church’s from Burger King.
Cosi Inc. named Stephen Edwards CEO/President following the resignation of Carin Stutz.
Cousins Subs hired Jason Westhoff as CFO, replacing Kendall Richmond. Westhoff was previously at Wisconsin Hospitality Group. Justin McCoy was promoted to VP of Marketing, and John ‘JJ’ Palmert is Manager of Franchise Sales.
Destination Hotels & Resorts announced the appointment of Mark Hays as CFO/Senior VP; the company also named Jamieson Asselta Director of Sales and appointed Kevin Barosso as Assistant VP of National Sales.
Domino’s Pizza hired Robert A. VanRenterghem as VP of Product Management in its Supply Chain Services Division; he was most recently at Gordon Food Service.
Dunkin’ Brands Group’s Chairman Jon Luther retired 5/15/13. CEO Nigel Travis assumed the additional title of Chairman.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts named Carmen Lam as VP of Hotel Sales and Marketing for the Asia Pacific.
Felcor Lodging Trust promoted Michael C. Hughes to CFO, Senior VP, Treasurer, effective 7/1/13, succeeding Andrew J. Walsh who will remain with the company until 12/31/13.
First Watch appointed Kevin Hall as VP of Franchising.
Franke Foodservice Systems promoted Thomas Campion to CEO/President, replacing Hans Ott. Derrick Richardson becomes President of KES Americas.
Grove Park Inn named Todd Sicolo as Executive Chef.
Host Hotels & Resorts named Gregory J. Larson as CFO, succeeding Larry K. Harvey who will continue to serve as Exec VP until the third quarter.
Ignite Restaurant Group hired Sam Rothschild as its first VP of Franchising.
Interstate Hotels & Resorts appointed David Altobello as Senior VP of Development and Acquisitions.
Jack in the Box promoted Elana M. Hobson to Senior VP of Operations.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants promoted Ave Bradley to Creative Director/Senior VP of Design.
Legacy Foodservice Alliance appointed Donald Hughes as COO and Deb Winter as Exec VP of Sales and Marketing.
Liquid Nutrition Group Inc. announced that David Bellisario has resigned as the company’s COO.
Long John Silver’s named Marie Zhang as Chief Food Innovation Officer.
Marcus Hotels & Resorts promoted Scott Shoenberger to Senior VP of Operations and Acquisitions and Peggy Williams-Smith to VP of Food & Beverage.
MGM Grand Detroit promoted Steve Zanella to President/COO.
MGM Resorts International promoted Michael Evans to COO of MGM Hospitality.
Mimi’s Café appointed Stuart Gee as Regional Director of Operations for the Central US and Daniel Boyd to Senior Director of Operations Services and Training. Stuart was previously with T.G.I. Friday’s.
MTR Gaming Group appointed Joseph L. Bilhimer as Acting President in addition to COO and accepted the resignation of CEO/President Jeffrey J. Dahl.
National Restaurant Association named Phil Kafarakis as Chief Innovation and Member Advancement Officer.
Outrigger Enterprises Group named Sean Dee as Chief Marketing Officer/Exec VP.
Penn National Gaming named Bill Hayles General Manager of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, succeeding Frank Quigley.
Pinnacle Entertainment promoted Carlos Ruisanchez to President/CFO and Ginny Shanks to CAO/Exec VP.
Pizza Ranch hired Tom Ragan as VP of Franchise Development.
Reading International appointed James J. Cotter Jr. as President, effective 6/1/13; the company also announced the resignation of COO John Hunter.
Ruby Tuesday appointed Jeffrey C. Wood as Chief Development Officer/Senior VP; he most recently held a similar position at Qdoba Restaurant Corp.
Sonic named Bob Franke as Senior VP of Franchise Sales and International Development, and Thomas Kessler as Senior Director of Franchise Sale.
SSP America appointed Patrick Gleason VP of Business Development.
Starbucks Corporation announced several senior leadership changes: John Culver has been promoted to group president, China & Asia Pacific, Channel Development (CPG) and Emerging Brands; Jeff Hansberry will be promoted to president, China & Asia Pacific; Cliff Burrows has been promoted to group president, Americas and US, EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) and Teavana. Former President EMEA Michelle Gass left the company in June. Starbucks also hired Deverl Maserang as Exec VP for Supply Chain Operations.
Taco Bell promoted Brian Niccol to President and Chris Brandt to Chief Marketing Officer, replacing Niccol.
Taco John’s International named Shawn Eby as VP of Operations.
The Bellagio named Emmanuel Cornet as Director of Food and Beverage.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel has appointed Fred Sawyers General Manager.
Thunder Valley Casino named Dawn Clayton as General Manager.
Tijuana Flats Burrito Co.’s CEO Brian Wheeler has left the company, and Brad Kaemmer was name to succeed him.
Tim Hortons appointed Marc Caira as CEO/President, effective 7/2/13, succeeding Paul House, who will become Non-Executive Chairman.
Tokyo Joe’s new owners named Greg MacDonald as CEO of the chain.
Topco Associates named Paul Matthews as Chief Supply Chain Officer and Exec VP.
Walmart hired Dan Barlett as Exec VP of Corporate Affairs.
White Lodging named Cory Chambers as VP of Revenue Generation for Full-Service and Laura Brouk as Senior VP of Revenue Generation for Select-Service.
Financial Focus:
Bob Evans Farms reported net sales of $1,608,909,000 for the year ending 4/26/13.
Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. reported net revenues of $965,199,000 for the year ending 4/28/13.
Morgan’s Foods reported revenues of $86,866,000 for the year ending 3/3/13.
Noodles & Company filed the forms with the SEC that are necessary to become a publicly-held company.
Mergers & Acquisitions:
Ashford Hospitality Trust finalized its acquisition of The Pier House Resort and Caribbean Spa in Key West, FL.
Cinemark Holdings Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of Rave Cinemas.
Landry’s Inc. acquired Mastro’s Restaurants LLC.
The Johnny Rockets burger chain has been acquired by an affiliate of private-equity group Sun Capital Partners Inc.
Tokyo Joe’s was acquired by Gridiron Capital LLC.
TravelCenters of America LLC announced the acquisition and rebranding of the only travel center in the state of RI.
Industry Insight:
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s expects to open three locations in the Middle East by the end of this year, with a location in Saudi Arabia opening this summer.
Darden Restaurants is testing a bar concept called Atrium, situated between the Olive Garden and Red Lobster at its ‘synergy’ location in Wilkesboro, NC.
Fatburger has announced plans to enter the Indian market for the first time with a 25-unit deal.
Ignite Restaurant Group announced plans to begin franchising its Brick House Tavern + Tap concept and hired Sam Rothschild to head the effort as VP of Franchising.
KFC has opened its first location in Mongolia.
Lane Hospitality, under the new ownership of investment firm AWH Partners for about one year, announced it has rebranded as Spire Hospitality, still based in Northbrook, IL.
Old Chicago Pasta & Pizza is rebranding as Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom.
Pollo Tropical opened its first restaurant in India.
Sbarro plans to open 20 restaurants in Ontario.
The Common Plea, one of Pittsburgh’s oldest restaurants, closed.
Real Estate:
Dunkin’ Brands is seeking franchisees in Charlotte and other NC markets, hoping to double its presence in that region.
Jack in the Box announced plans to close 67 of its company-operated Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants before the end of its fiscal year in September. The company still plans to open 60-70 new Qdobas in its next fiscal year.
La Madeleine plans to add 20+ locations in the DC-metro region over the next three to five years, with two locations planned for next year.
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt opened location #300.
Tilted Kilt announced plans for 10 new locations in KS, MO, and NE during the next five years.
Togo’s is accelerating development in AZ and seeks to open up to 25 stores in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Flagstaff, Tempe and Tucson.
Wild Wing Cafe will open five new restaurants by year end and is introducing a smaller 6,500 square foot prototype.
Yogurtland opened the first of four locations in MA.
Green Initiatives:
Texas Roadhouse opened its first ‘green’ restaurant with its location in Deer Park, NY; the restaurant was built with regional materials and energy-saving methods such as water efficiency and recycling.
