San Francisco — Starbird has appointed Greg Levin as chief executive officer and board member, effective immediately. Levin will lead the company’s next phase of national expansion, bringing a guest-first leadership mindset, a proven record of scaling premium restaurant brands and deep experience building disciplined, high-performing restaurant concepts and operating systems.
As part of the transition, Starbird founder Aaron Noveshen will move fully into the role of chairman of the board. In this capacity, he will continue stewarding the brand’s long term vision and values at the board level, ensuring continuity as the company scales.
Levin joins Starbird following a distinguished career at BJ’s Restaurants, where he spent nearly two decades in senior leadership roles, including chief financial officer, president and chief executive officer. During his tenure, he helped shape the company’s operating model, leadership culture and financial foundation, supporting its growth from 45 restaurants to more than 200 locations across 31 states and from approximately $140 million to $1.4 billion in annual revenue.
“Having a leader with hands-on experience growing a premium restaurant brand nationwide brings real confidence to our franchise partners, investors and operators, and reinforces Starbird’s commitment to thoughtful leadership, strong execution and sustainable growth,” says Noveshen.
Levin’s appointment strengthens Starbird’s leadership team at a pivotal moment as the brand moves beyond its California-first growth strategy and accelerates nationwide expansion.
With the continued partnership of Dollarhyde Investment Group and the backing of KarpReilly, a leading consumer-focused investment firm, Starbird is well positioned to accelerate franchise development and expansion — grounded in its founding vision and supported by a leadership team built for scale.
Founded in San Francisco in 2016, Starbird is a super-premium fast food brand serving Positively Delicious Chicken® through a modern, thoughtfully designed dining experience that blends hospitality, culinary craft and smart use of technology. Starbird was founded by restaurant entrepreneur Aaron Noveshen through his firm, The Culinary Edge, with a vision to bring higher quality food and thoughtful hospitality to quick-service dining. Built upon pillars of culinary innovation, a frictionless service model and operational excellence, Starbird has established a differentiated position within the $34 billion U.S. chicken category. Today, the brand operates 19 locations and continues to expand into new communities. For more information, visit www.starbirdchicken.com and www.starbirdfranchising.com.
SOURCE: Starbird