Las Vegas — Potbelly Sandwich Shop has signed a franchise agreement to open 10 shops in the Las Vegas market. Eric Persson, an experienced, multi-brand restaurant operator and owner, will be bringing Potbelly to the area. The deal marks the brand’s entry into the region. “I’m thrilled to break into the fast-casual restaurant segment with a proven brand,” says Persson, who is a longtime local Las Vegas resident and an accomplished entrepreneur. “Potbelly hits the mark on exactly what I am seeking to diversify my portfolio. I’m excited to help …
restaurants
Dallas — Fuzzy’s Taco Shop has named Jessica Wescott as chief financial officer. She previously served as the executive vice president of finance for the Baja-inspired franchise. Wescott began her career in wealth management before moving into the franchising world and working her way up to vice president of development and finance with MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes. In January 2018, Wescott was named executive vice president of Finance at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, where she oversaw many aspects of financial operations, as well as marketing and technology strategies, and fed …
Atlanta — Erik Hess joins the Moe’s Southwest Grill® brand with more than 25 years of global experience in the food and beverage industry. Hess will be leading as president of the Moe’s brand, a fast-casual Mexican concept with more than 725 operating units, where he will oversee franchise and company operations, marketing, supply chain and product innovation. Previously, Hess spent 25 years at McDonald’s Corporation in a wide variety of senior leadership positions responsible for product development, innovating the customer experience, strategy and insights, restaurant development among many other …
Sacramento, Calif. — Round Table Pizza® has reopened its first location to undergo a complete redesign to embody Round Table’s recently updated logo and brand identity: “Pizza Royalty.” The Round Table store, located at 398 Florin Rd. in Sacramento, Calif., is the first location in the 440-unit system to undergo a full renovation that will dramatically upgrade the dine-in experience to create a store that reflects the same passion Round Table puts into its pizza. “Pizza Royalty,” which was announced earlier this year, reinforces Round Table Pizza’s iconic legacy and demonstrates a commitment to …
Atlanta — Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a leading national fast-casual cafe concept, is opening its 800th location. The location will open on September 6, 2019 in Arlington Heights, Ill. This milestone opening comes on the heels of a tremendous growth year for the brand, with the opening of its 750th location in May. “Just last August we were celebrating the opening of our 700th location, and now 1 year later we will be celebrating the opening of our 800th location in the Chicago area,” says Charles Watson, CEO of Tropical Smoothie …
Orlando, Fla. — MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a fast-casual “better burger” chain founded in Plano, Texas, in 2007, is set to have two openings in late 2019 and early 2020 in Orlando, Fla. The Orlando openings mark the second and third MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes restaurants in the market, joining the existing Oviedo Mall location that opened last fall. The franchise brand is planning to bring an additional six locations to the greater Orlando area. For more information, visit www.MOOYAH.com. SOURCE: MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes
Houston — Atlanta-based Tin Drum Asian Kitchen, a Pan-Asian restaurant that transports its guests to a street side café in Asia, complete with hawker style cuisine and atmosphere, will open the first of five restaurants in Houston this year. Tin Drum has tapped experienced Houston restaurateurs Shairoz Lakhani, Avez Maredia and Faizan Momin to own and operate the five units in the Houston area. They are currently identifying potential locations and plan to open by early 2020. Spouses Lakhani and Maredia currently own and operate three Wingstop restaurants in Texas …
Chicago and Salt Lake City — Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, a Chicago-based multi-concept restaurant group, and Grubhub, the nation’s leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace, are partnering to offer Whole30 Delivered, Whole30’s first-ever branded restaurant. This delivery-only restaurant concept from Whole30, the 30-day dietary reset chosen by millions for stunning, life-changing results, is operated by Lettuce Entertain You and provides diners across Chicago access to prepared, Whole30-compliant meals for delivery exclusively on Grubhub. The culinary team at Lettuce Entertain You worked directly with Whole30 to create a menu for the virtual …
Conshohocken, Pa. — Saladworks has appointed a new chief executive officer, Kelly Roddy, effective August 1, 2019. He brings 30 years of industry experience to the brand. As former president of Schlotzsky’s, Roddy has demonstrated focus on unit level economics and franchisee success. Most notably during his tenure, Schlotzsky’s experienced 10 consecutive years of positive comp growth. Prior to his leadership in the QSR space, Roddy led operations, sales and marketing at the San Antonio-based supermarket chain H-E-B. “I am honored to have been elected as Saladworks’ new chief executive …
The Colony, Texas — Quest Resource Holding Corporation, a national leader in environmental reuse, recycling and waste disposal services, has added Buffalo Wild Wings, one of the largest American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise, which is owned by Atlanta-based Inspired Brands Inc., to its portfolio of customers. Under the multi-year agreement, Quest will manage a comprehensive waste and recycling program to all 516 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants located throughout the United States. “We selected Quest because they provided a significant savings over the incumbent, offered a slew of …