1. business and industrial

January 19, 2015
Henny Penny Becomes an Employee-Owned Company
Henny Penny announced at a meeting with 600+ employees that, as of December 30, 2014, the
company became employee-owned through the sale of its stock to a newly formed employee
stock ownership plan (ESOP). The transaction ensures that Henny Penny and Wood Stone,
previously owned by the Cobb family, will remain privately held. Steve Cobb, currently
Chairman of Henny Penny, will continue in this role. Established in 1957 in Eaton, Ohio, Henny
Penny is one of the country’s leading designers and manufacturers of premium foodservice
cooking, holding and display equipment for thousands of restaurants, supermarkets and
institutions around the world. In January 2014, Henny Penny acquired Wood Stone, the leading
global manufacturer of stone hearth and specialty cooking equipment. Wood Stone founded in
1990, is located in Bellingham, Wash. “This is an exciting and historic day for Henny Penny,
Wood Stone and our employees,” said Steve Cobb. “Our employees always have been and will
continue to be the key to our success. Without them, we would not be where we are today. They
are now empowered, more than ever, to ensure the continuation of the exciting success we have
earned and enjoyed.” There will be no changes in leadership or operations for either Henny
Penny or Wood Stone. Rob Connelly, announced last October as President and CEO of Henny
Penny, will continue in his position as will all current members of its senior leadership. Kurt
Eickmeyer, President of Wood Stone, will continue in his position as will all current members of
its senior leadership. According to Connelly, “We will continue with business as usual, which for
Henny Penny means that we will continue to innovate, provide the highest quality products and
services to our customers and grow our market share. I am excited for our future as an employeeowned company and look forward to seeing what this next chapter brings to our culture and our
successful business.” – Source: Henny Penny.
NRA Elects Jack Crawford Chairman
The National Restaurant Association has elected John G. (Jack) Crawford chairman of its board
of directors, the organization announced. Crawford is president and CEO of the Ground Round
Independent Owners Cooperative, and will serve as chairman until 2016. “Jack is a 10-year
veteran on our board and has over 33 years of restaurant industry experience to lead our efforts
in 2015 to continue growing membership and strengthening the National Restaurant
Association’s programs and services,” NRA president Dawn Sweeney said in a statement. “He
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will also be instrumental in advancing the association’s new strategic plan and its expanded
portfolio of member benefits that will strengthen the restaurant and foodservice industry as a
whole.” Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative operates the 29-unit Ground Round
chain, which is based in Freeport, Maine, and has total sales of $50 million. Crawford led the
franchisee buyout of the Ground Round Grill & Bar in 2004, and has since helped the chain
return to new unit growth through the company’s franchise model. Crawford has been on the
NRA board since 2003, and was chairman of the 2012 NRA Show. He is currently a member of
the NRA Educational Foundation board of trustees. He is also a past member of the Maine
Restaurant Association board of directors, and was chairman of the association’s board in 2000.
Additionally, Joseph J. Kadow, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Bloomin’
Brands Inc., was elected vice chair, and Jeffrey W. Davis, CEO of Arby’s franchisee United
States Beef Corporation, was elected treasurer. – Source: NRN.
Ali Group to Promote Two Execs
Fink and Kelly climb the corporate ladder for the international foodservice equipment
manufacturer. Kevin Fink will become executive vice president of the Ali Group, effective
March 2, 2015. Fink, who currently serves as president of Ice-O-Matic, Ali Group's Denver,
Colorado–based ice machine manufacturer, will relocate to Ali Group's Milan, Italy,
headquarters. In addition, Ali Group promoted Keith Kelly to president of Ice-O-Matic, effective
February 1, 2015. In his new role, Fink will assist in the overall support, control and
development initiatives in Ali companies with a primary focus on the EMEA region. Fink began
his foodservice equipment industry career in 1987 as a U.S. regional sales representative for the
Hobart Corporation. In 2000 he joined the Enodis Group as vice president of marketing and in
2005 he took over at Ice-O-Matic. In 2008, Fink was assigned the management responsibility of
Scotsman Industries, comprising both the Scotsman and Ice-O-Matic brands. Kelly will be
responsible for the day-to-day management of Ice-O-Matic. His foodservice industry background
includes 4 years leading InterMetro's international business and more than 10 years at Ice-OMatic as vice president of sales and marketing. Kelly most recently served as executive vice
president at Ice-O-Matic. – Source: The Ali Group.
Krispy Kreme Puts Threefold Expansion Plan in Play
Less than eight months into his tenure as president and chief executive officer of Krispy Kreme
Doughnuts, Inc., Anthony N. “Tony” Thompson continues to be impressed by the future
prospects for the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company. In December, Mr. Thompson, who took
the helm at Krispy Kreme on June 1, 2014, said the biggest surprise in his first six months on the
job was the fact the company does as much or more business after 2 p.m. as it does before 2 p.m.
Then, in a Jan. 12 presentation at the ICR XChange in Orlando, he said he sees an “enormous”
amount of opportunity for expansion for the company. To capitalize on expansion opportunities,
Krispy Kreme has developed a three-pronged approach: infill, pursue and evaluate. He said
Krispy Kreme will infill by expanding with existing franchise partners and growing out existing
company-owned markets, which allows Krispy Kreme to leverage its supply chain efficiencies
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and capitalize on brand awareness. “Recently we have announced add-on agreements, including
Southern California, South Korea and Mexico,” he said. “In addition, we continue to expand
company markets, including Atlanta and Jacksonville.” The company also is pursuing new
franchise interest with a goal of growing its footprint in underpenetrated areas and new markets,
Mr. Thompson said. Recent announcements include Dallas, Houston, Maryland, Northern
Virginia and Arkansas in the United States, and Colombia and Bangladesh internationally. The
third part of the company’s expansion approach centers on evaluation. “We will evaluate new
markets, regions and areas where we have very limited or no presence at all,” Mr. Thompson
said. “We expect to announce new development agreements over the coming quarters and years
as we continue to grow the pipeline.” Offering a glimpse at fiscal 2015 financial guidance, Mr.
Thompson said Krispy Kreme projects company same-store sales will be positive, with doubledigit system-wide unit growth with 20 to 35 net domestic openings and 95 to 110 international
openings. Total revenues are expected to increase between 8% and 11% for the year, while
adjusted net income is forecast between $55 million and $59 million, with adjusted earnings per
share of 79c to 85c. “I could not be more excited about the future of Krispy Kreme and our
tremendous growth opportunities,” Mr. Thompson said. “We are well positioned with a solid
business model, a strong talented team, and an incredibly powerful brand to drive continued
success.” – Source: FoodBusinessNews.net.
Red Mango Founder Dan Kim to Step Down
Red Mango founder and chief concept officer Dan Kim is stepping down to start his own
consultancy, Kim said Friday. Kim will continue in an advisory role at Red Mango, he said. The
300-unit frozen yogurt chain is now owned by Dallas-based BRIX Holdings LLC, which also
owns Smoothie Factory and an 80-percent stake in RedBrick Pizza. “After eight years of eating
frozen yogurt nearly every day, I decided last week to step down from Red Mango to pursue two
things I've been wanting to do for a while: (1) form a consulting agency where I can help cool
and innovative companies in broader consumer markets, and (2) spend more time collaborating
with colleges and universities on teaching and promoting innovation,” Kim wrote in a Facebook
post recently. Kim founded Red Mango in Los Angeles in 2007 and served as chief executive
until he stepped down to serve as chief concept officer in July 2011. Kim said he would continue
to work on a few Red Mango projects this year. “I have couple of innovative flavors I’ve been
working on,” he told Nation’s Restaurant News Friday. “I’ll wrap those up, but I’ll be spending
the majority of my time building up my consulting practice.” Kim said his new company,
DAN.KIM&CO, “will use digital and social marketing as a platform for growth and
development objectives. It will be for leveraging the digital and social ecosystem to get their
message across in effective ways.” Kim added that he could help with the introduction of new
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products, or entrances into new markets as well. “I think there’s an opportunity for a consultancy
that lives and breathes the principals of today’s Millennial culture, driven by social media,” he
said. Red Mango is owned by Brix Holdings LLC, a Dallas-based holding company that formed
in 2014 and is headed by John Antioco, who previously served as chairman of Taco Bell Corp.
and was chair and chief executive of video-rental chain Blockbuster. Antioco invested in Red
Mango in 2008 with Dallas-based private-equity firm CIC Partners LP. Antioco and CIC bought
out the company in 2009, and CIC exited Red Mango in 2013, with Antioco taking a majority
ownership. The company also acquired Smoothie Factory and RedBrick Pizza in 2013. The
company was rebranded as BRIX. – Source: NRN.
Fiesta Restaurant Group®, Inc., Announces New Vice President
Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., which operates the fast-casual dining chains Taco Cabana®, Pollo
Tropical® and Cabana Grill®, has promoted IT veteran Ryan Nowlin to vice president –
information technology. Nowlin, who joined Fiesta as director of IT systems in 2012 and was
named senior director of IT in 2014, is responsible for the company’s entire IT structure. Key
accomplishments during his tenure include redesigning Pollo Tropical’s website with online
ordering capabilities, restructuring the IT department, improving Help Desk functions,
improving on-site repair, and beginning the migration of the company’s enterprise systems and
network to the cloud. “Fiesta’s growth is reliant on a solid infrastructure, and Ryan has
continually sought to implement, improve, update and streamline our technological systems so
that we are always running at maximum efficiency – not just for today, but looking toward future
needs as well,” said Fiesta President and CEO Tim Taft. “They say that you can tell a great IT
department by how little you have to think about it, and with this promotion, we are showing
Ryan that we appreciate the seamlessness of both our internal and consumer-facing systems.”
Prior to Fiesta, Nowlin served as vice president – IT and business process for Corner Bakery
Cafe. Previously, he spent 13 years in IT consulting with a focus on infrastructure, information
security and technology strategy. He holds an MBA from SMU Cox School of Business. –
Source: Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc.
Jamba Agrees to Appoint Two New Independent Directors
Jamba, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to appoint James C. Pappas,
Managing Member of JCP Investment Management, LLC, and Glenn W. Welling, Managing
Member and Chief Investment Officer of Engaged Capital, LLC, to its Board of Directors,
effective immediately, and that each will be included in Jamba’s slate of director nominees for
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election at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2015 Annual Meeting”). Jamba also
agreed that one current member of the Board would not be re-nominated to stand for election at
the 2015 Annual Meeting. With these changes, after the 2015 Annual Meeting the Jamba Board
will comprise nine directors, eight of whom are independent. James D. White, chairman,
president and CEO of Jamba, said, “We are pleased to welcome Glenn and James to the Board of
Directors, and are confident that their diversified expertise will add valuable perspective to
Jamba’s Board as we continue to execute on our growth strategy. Jamba is focused on driving
shareholder value as we expand our juicing platform and transition to an asset-light, franchisefocused model. We believe that including representatives from two of Jamba’s large investors is
in the best interest of the Company and all shareholders.” James C. Pappas of JCP Investment
Management said, “We are pleased to join Jamba’s Board. We look forward to working with
management and the Board to help enhance value for all stockholders.” Glenn W. Welling of
Engaged Capital said, “We appreciate Jamba’s constructive approach and the recent steps that
have been taken to enhance shareholder value. Jamba’s commitment to transition to a franchise
focused company has the potential to create meaningful value for shareholders, and I look
forward to being a part of the team that makes that happen.” Under the terms of the agreement
with Engaged Capital, LLC and certain of its affiliates (“Engaged Capital”), which beneficially
own approximately 8.2% of the Company’s outstanding shares, and JCP Investment
Management, LLC and certain of its affiliates (“JCP”), which beneficially own approximately
2.3% of the Company’s outstanding shares, JCP and Engaged Capital have agreed to vote their
shares in favor of the election of the Company’s slate of directors at the Company’s 2015 Annual
Meeting. In addition, JCP will, among other things, withdraw its nomination of candidates to
stand for election at the Company’s 2015 Annual Meeting and has agreed to customary standstill
provisions through the date that is 45 days prior to the expiration of the Company’s advance
notice period for the nomination of directors at the Company’s 2016 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders. The full agreement will be filed in a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Mr. Pappas will serve as a member of the Board’s Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee, and Mr. Welling will serve as
a member of the Compensation and Executive Development Committee. The date of the 2015
Annual Meeting has not been set. – Source: Jamba Juice Company.
CiCi's VP Joins Orange Leaf as President
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt announced the appointment of Geoff Goodman as its new president.
Goodman, who most recently served as VP of Brand Excellence for the Dallas-based CiCi's
Pizza, will oversee operations, product development, brand management and franchise
development. Reese Travis will remain CEO and focus on the company's strategic growth.
"Geoff is the ideal leader to help Orange Leaf during this crucial period of shake out in the
frozen yogurt industry" said Travis in a company press release. "His extensive operations
experience and proven track record of improving customer experience make him the perfect fit in
this new role." – Source: FastCasual.com.
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Quiznos Names Doug Pendergast President, CEO
Quiznos named Doug Pendergast president and chief executive, following the resignation of
Stuart Mathis, who has left to pursue other opportunities. The announcement followed a staff
reduction Friday among the Denver-based fast-casual sandwich operator’s corporate staff.
Quiznos officials declined to give specifics on the staff reduction, except to say that it affected
all levels and all departments. Pendergast joins Quiznos after leaving The Krystal Company,
where he was president and chief executive from April 2012 to September 2014. Last week,
Krystal named Omar Janjua president and CEO. Prior to Krystal, Pendergast held the positions
of chief development and franchising officer for Craftworks; executive vice president and chief
franchise officer for Church’s Chicken; and vice president of strategy for AFC Enterprises Inc.,
which last year changed its name to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. “Quiznos is an iconic brand,
known for quality food, chef-created recipes and an innovative spirit,” Pendergast said in a
statement. “I am excited to join the leadership team and to help our franchise owners build their
profitability, strengthen their businesses and grow the brand for the future. “This is a critical and
exciting time for the brand,” he added. “Quiznos is operating under a new food cost and supply
model that should improve restaurant economics and is in an excellent position to build customer
loyalty and frequency.” Quiznos emerged from bankruptcy protection last year after completing
a financial restructuring. Under the plan, a majority stake held by hedge fund owner Avenue
Capital Group was significantly reduced, and controlling interest shifted to a group of privateequity investors, including Oaktree Capital Management, Fortress Investment Group, Caspian
Capital Advisors, MSD Capital LP, and others, the company said. For Quiznos franchisees,
however, profitability remains an ongoing issue, and many units have closed across the country.
In the U.S., the chain has shrunk to about 1,100 domestic locations, compared with its heyday in
2006, when Quiznos had more than 5,000 restaurants. Meanwhile, the chain has been growing its
international business. Kenneth Cutshaw, president of Quiznos international, has pledged to
reach more than 1,000 international locations in more than 40 countries by 2020. In November,
the chain had about 650 units outside the U.S. Doug Benham, Quiznos’ chairman, said in a
statement, “We are fortunate to have a leader of Doug’s caliber join the Quiznos team,” referring
to Pendergast. “The breadth of his experience in restaurants and franchising, combined with his
leadership experience in turnaround situations makes him uniquely qualified to lead this
organization and move Quiznos forward,” Benham added. Quiznos did not indicate the plans of
Mathis, who joined Quiznos in 2012 as CEO. “On behalf of the board of managers, we thank
Stuart for his leadership and many contributions to the business, and we wish him well in his
future endeavors,” Benham said. – Source: NRN.
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U.S. Business Travel Spending Projected to Top $310 Billion in 2015
U.S. business travel ended 2014 on a high note, with record spending expected to reach $292.2
billion. The projection for 2015 also remains strong, as lower oil prices are expected to lead to
increased consumer spending, boosting economic projects. This strong domestic economic news
comes despite an overall weak global economic outlook, with trouble in Europe, Asia and
Russia. Overall, U.S. business travel spending is expected to advance 6.2 percent to $310.2
billion in 2015, while total person-trip volume is expected to increase 1.7 percent to 490.4
million trips for the year, according to the GBTA BTI™ Outlook – United States 2014 Q4, a
report from the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel
Association (GBTA), and sponsored by Visa, Inc. "2014 was a stabilizing year for U.S. business
travel, with continuous, sustained growth, despite a plethora of external issues internationally
that have weighted down economies in Europe, Russia and Asia," said Michael W. McCormick,
GBTA executive director and COO. "This is a significant and encouraging sign of confidence in
the strength of the U.S. economy." – Source: ehotelier.com.
Qdoba Crawling out from the ‘Shadow of Chipotle’
As executives describe it, Qdoba Mexican Grill has been “under the shadow of Chipotle.” With
more than 600 units, the Denver-based fast-casual restaurant chain is at the center of rebranding
efforts with the goal of carving a new niche in the fresh-mex marketplace. “When you come into
the market as a No. 2 player and you are essentially a ‘me, too’ brand, it is very difficult to
generate or accelerate growth,” said Lenny Comma, chairman and chief executive officer of
parent company Jack in the Box Inc., in a Jan. 12 presentation at the ICR XChange in Orlando.
“And that is really the reason to put this much effort into differentiating that brand.” A key
component of transformation plans is menu innovation. In December, the chain added to its core
menu a line of smothered burritos, containing layers of rice, beans, cheese and meat topped with
a choice of tangy verde sauce, bold red chile sauce or smoky chipotle cream sauce. “What
smothered burritos does for us is really allow us to play into the taste and flavor and the craft of
the food,” said Tim Casey, president of Qdoba Restaurant Corp. “If you think about a burrito, a
burrito looks like a burrito in any chain. The smothered burrito allows us to bring flavor forward
and bring forth some really craveable smothering sauces. “It also allows us to drive the day part
past just lunch. It is a beautiful evening day part entree.” Other new items have included a
limited-time Mango Mojo menu, featuring a salad, nachos and a burrito topped with spicy mango
salsa and a sweet red chili sauce tossed with chunks of fresh mango. “We have some things
coming down the road,” Mr. Casey said. “Early summer we have some really exciting things
happening to really build on what we are seeing from the guest and how well they are responding
to this idea of Qdoba being the flavor innovator and bringing innovative flavors to them in the
Qdoba concept.” To create more distinction from other burrito chains, Qdoba also recently
stopped surcharging for such ingredients as guacamole and queso. “At the beginning of this year,
we put in place the new value proposition to the guest which essentially simplified the menu,
simplified the pricing and gave the consumer the opportunity to choose what goes into their
burrito without feeling nickeled and dimed,” Mr. Comma said. “And all early indications from
that have been very positive.” Posting a 6% increase in same-store sales during the recent fiscal
year, Qdoba is viewed by the company as a growth engine that is fueled by the “cash cow” of
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Jack in the Box. Asked about the possibility of a spin-off, executives expressed confidence in the
long-term growth of the brand and its value creation for shareholders. A split would be a “shortterm play,” Mr. Comma said. “We are feeling good about the sales that we have been able to
achieve in the last year, and we are feeling optimistic about the year going forward,” he said. –
Source: FoodBusinesNews.net.
Krystal Names New President, CEO
The Krystal Co. has named industry veteran Omar Janjua president and chief executive, effective
Jan. 21, the company said. Janjua succeeds Krystal’s CEO, Harsha Agadi, who took over in
September to replace Doug Pendergast, who left the Atlanta-based company. Agadi will continue
as Krystal's non-executive board chairman. Janjua most recently was president of Oklahoma
City-based Sonic Restaurants Inc. and chief restaurant operations officer for Sonic Industries.
Prior to Sonic, Janjua served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Steak ’n
Shake. Before that, he worked for 18 years with Pizza Hut. “Krystal is a brand with a unique
position in the marketplace that enjoys a special relationship with its guests,” Janjua said in a
statement. “I look forward to working with the team to expand the passion and loyalty that runs
so deep in the brand history to a new and widening consumer base.” Krystal was acquired by
Argonne Capital Group in March 2012. “Argonne’s success is built on investment into proven
brands and partnership with leaders who can drive those businesses to further heights,” said
Michael Klump, Argonne’s founder, president and CEO. “We are excited to have him as part of
our team and know his extensive experience and strategic abilities will help lead The Krystal Co.
into a period of increased consumer relevance, growth and profitability.” – Source: NRN.
Arby’s Continues Rollout of Revamped Store Design
A sheet of paper taped to the windows of the former Arby’s on Wood Street alerts passersby that
the restaurant has closed. But just around the corner on Liberty Avenue, the restaurant chain is
opening a new, improved version Monday that will show off changes cooked up since the brand
was acquired by a private investment group in 2011. Arby’s has seen its share of bumpy sales but
now claims to have posted 17 consecutive quarters of sales growth at established stores. And the
revamped store design that the company has been rolling out for months — lots of wood
paneling, warmer lighting and bold red on the exterior — is producing sales boosts of 18 to 20
percent at remodeled locations, said Rick Gestring, vice president of brand and operations
integration for Arby’s, who was part of a team checking out the new Pittsburgh restaurant. The
Downtown site is among the first in the country to use a format crafted for tight, urban settings
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— something that could open up development opportunities for the historically suburban brand
launched in Boardman, Ohio, 50 years ago. “This is still a work in progress as we continue to
explore and innovate,” said Mr. Gestring as he walked the restaurant that puts the meat slicer in
easy view of customers and that organizes the menu by protein (roast beef, other beef, turkey,
“friends of meat”). The nation’s restaurant industry is just recovering from the Great Recession
and Americans still aren’t eating out as much as they used to, according to the NPD Group. The
Port Washington, N.Y.-based consulting group’s data found Americans in the 12 months ended
in August were eating out at the slowest pace since 1993. The fourth quarter of 2014 did see
sales results improving, at least a bit, according to a Dallas-based Black Box Intelligence’s
restaurant industry snapshot. Yet iconic fast-food operator McDonald’s has been serving up
discouraging results and hunting for ways to change its relationship with consumers. Last month,
the hamburger giant said it is testing a simpler menu to find out if that will help. Remodeling,
too, has been used by other brands to attract customers. Pittsburghers have watched as Wendy’s
tore down old restaurants around town in recent years and put up modern, stylized places. Arby’s
new owners have been investing in making their fast-food business feel more like the fast-casual
restaurants that customers seem to prefer. Think Chipotle vs. Taco Bell. A high-top communal
table in the new dining area has proven a hit in other remodeled stores, said John Bowie, senior
vice president of operations. “It fills up,” he said. In the Pittsburgh region that extends to the
Ohio line and dips into West Virginia, Arby’s has 47 restaurants, including 30 company-owned
locations. The company sites are all set to be remodeled within the next three years. At least one
new restaurant should be built this year, and officials believe there’s room for more. The
company has almost 3,400 locations globally. – Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Bruegger's Bagels Names New President, Relocates HQ to Dallas
"Paul brings a fantastic wealth of knowledge and a remarkable perspective. Bruegger's Bagels
will undoubtedly benefit from his cross-functional development and operations expertise as well
as the relationships he has cemented in the restaurant industry with dynamic multi-unit
operator/investor teams, suppliers, foodservice companies and real estate insiders," said Claude
Bergeron, president and CEO of Le Duff America, Inc., parent organization to Bruegger's
Bagels, in a company press release. "We are at an important moment in the history of Bruegger's
Bagels and Paul is the right leader to take us into the future." Carolan assumes the role as
president of the brand on the heels of its headquarters relocating to Dallas. Bruegger's Bagels
leadership team members join management from Le Duff America, Inc. and its sister brands, la
Madeleine and Brioche Dorée, at the Dallas offices. "There is fantastic energy enveloping
Bruegger's Bagels right now," said Carolan, who most recently served as chief development
officer for Le Duff America. "I'm blessed to have many strong Bruegger's team members already
in place. We're on the cusp of differentiating ourselves even more prolifically among the
competitive set with an array of strategic initiatives." Prior to joining Le Duff America, Carolan
held development positions at Sun Capital Partners, the private equity investing company whose
holdings consist of more than 1,900 restaurants, and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. –
Source: FastCasual.com.
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Golden Corral Names New CEO
While the millions of customers who visit Golden Corral each year won’t recognize the name of
its new CEO, they are probably familiar with some of the products he introduced to the chain’s
dining experience. Golden Corral introduced the flowing fountains of chocolate and caramel in
its restaurants after Lance Trenary, then the company’s chief operating officer, passed an Asian
restaurant buffet in Indianapolis with a line of people out the door waiting to dip a stick with fruit
in a chocolate fountain. On Jan. 1, Trenary took over as president and chief executive officer of
the Raleigh-based Golden Corral, the nation’s leading grill and buffet chain that served 175
million people in 2014. Trenary is the third CEO for the company, which opened its first
restaurant in Fayetteville in 1973. Golden Corral now has 501 locations in 41 states, including
399 franchisee-owned restaurants. About 171 employees work out of the company’s Raleighbased support center. Company founder James Maynard served first in the top position, followed
by Ted Fowler, who was CEO for 25 years before he retired at the end of 2014. The company’s
retirement program sets 65 as the maximum age for officers. Fowler, 65, will serve on the board
of directors for Investors Management Corp., a privately held Raleigh holding company that was
founded by Maynard. Maynard said that Trenary is the perfect choice to lead the company. “He
has held virtually every key position and successfully managed the departments that are the core
of the business,” Maynard said in a statement provided by the company. Trenary, 54, has worked
for Golden Corral 29 years and served as the company’s chief operating officer since 2011.
Trenary got his start in the restaurant business at age 9, when he was washing dishes for his
father’s Pizza Hut restaurant in Mississippi. Trenary started working at a Golden Corral in
Mississippi as a restaurant partner manager and climbed the corporate ladder to Raleigh. As the
new CEO, Trenary said he plans to build on brand staples, such as variety and value, working to
expand the company’s reach beyond the buffet sector and pull in customers visiting casual dining
and family restaurants. For years, Golden Corral has dominated the buffet category, claiming
about 30 percent market share in the sector. But when Maynard and William Carl opened in
1973, it started as a steak restaurant with the mission “to make pleasurable dining affordable.”
When Golden Corral began to stumble in the 1980s, its executives started testing the larger,
buffet-driven restaurants that they ultimately used to compete with companies such as Ryan’s.
That approach, and other efforts, revitalized Golden Corral, and the company set a record year in
2012 with systemwide sales reaching nearly $1.8 billion. Annual sales have been flat the past
two years. Trenary linked the stagnation to the overall economy and the lack of new ideas
Golden Corral offered to consumers. “I don’t think our innovation was strong enough,” he said.
“If you are not constantly doing something new, the guests will let you know” by going
somewhere else to eat. Trenary said he hopes to spur improvement by emphasizing the
company’s healthy eating options, finding ways to customize food preparation for customers and
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exploring building a Golden Corral outside of the U.S., possibly as soon as 2016. “What I don’t
want to do is change the culture of the company,” he said, which puts an emphasis on internal
talent and community initiatives, such as camps and programs for veterans and their children. –
Source: The News Observer.
The End of Urbanspoon: Zomato Scoops up Restaurant Review App
Digitally-savvy diners know the Urbanspoon brand, a website and mobile application that lists
information and reviews on restaurants in six countries, including the U.S. and Canada. They are
much less likely to have heard ofZomato. But that will soon change. The New Dehli-based
company, which runs its own restaurant-listing service, announced on Monday that it has
acquired Urbanspoon from New York City-based media company IAC/InterActiveCorp. Reports
pegged the deal at roughly $50-million (U.S.), a number that is "on the right track," said
Zomato's founder and chief executive officer Deepinder Goyal, "but I can't say more than that."
While Urbanspoon has strong brand recognition among users, Zomato is planning on phasing it
out completely: Website users will be redirected to Zomato.com starting in March, and
Urbanspoon app users will start seeing a notice encouraging them to download the Zomato app.
Mobile users will be given roughly three months to transition, meaning the Urbanspoon brand
will be dissolved by this summer. "The recognition can come back in some time if people use the
product," Mr. Goyal said. The deal is part of a string of acquisitions Zomato has made in the past
six months, gobbling up restaurant search companies in New Zealand, Poland, Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Italy. Urbanspoon will automatically increase Zomato's restaurant listings
threefold, from more than 300,000 to more than one million restaurants catalogued on its service.
It also gives Zomato a presence in the U.S. and Australia, expanding its presence to 22 countries,
and the company expects it will more than double its traffic online and on mobile devices.
Zomato opened an office in Toronto in October, and now has roughly 35 employees here. All of
this expansion is an attempt to compete with services such as Yelp and Foursquare. Services
such as these court diners who scope out restaurant reviews online, and a growing percentage of
the population with smartphones that can search on the fly for hot spots to eat. All of Zomato's
revenue comes from selling ads for restaurants on its website and mobile app. Mr. Goyal is
hoping that through its expanded presence, Zomato will be able to sell more of that advertising.
Its home market, India, is its largest and most profitable. Five other markets are also currently
profitable: the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and Indonesia.
Zomato has raised $113-million in total from backers including Sequoia Capital, Info Edge and
Vy Capital to finance its expansion. "There will be a lot of work that will go into building the
new product," Mr. Goyal said. "It will have the best of Zomato and the best of Urbanspoon. We
will dig down and figure out what are the most used features of Urbanspoon and the most used
features of Zomato." While both brands do essentially the same thing, they have gone about it in
different ways, he said: Urbanspoon aggregates data from across the Web, including restaurant
websites, magazine and newspaper reviews, blogs and user reviews. Zomato, which was founded
in 2008, hires teams of employees on the ground who ensure that photographs and restaurant
information such as hours of operation are all up to date; 95 per cent of its listings include
scanned menus. It also has user reviews. IAC/InterActiveCorp. owns brands including digital
information service About.com, matchmaking services Match.com and Tinder, and media
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properties including The Daily Beast and video streaming site Vimeo. Representatives from the
company declined requests for an interview. – Source: The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada.
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