News

Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants hires first COO

August 1, 2014

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants Inc., announced the hire of Andy Abbajay as the company's first chief operations officer.

"Andy joins us with a proven track record of creative problem solving and will be instrumental in leveraging best in class operation procedures for our growing system," CEO Roland Dickey, Jr., said in a news release. "He is a results-oriented leader and laser focused on successful operations and continued growth."

Prior to joining Dickey's, Abbajay served as vice president of operations for Sbarro where he was instrumental in leveraging increased support and execution to re-engage owners as the brand emerged from bankruptcy. In addition, he has served as chief operations officer for Back Yard Burgers and chief executive officer for Restaurant Growth Brands.

Abbajay holds a bachelor of science in business from Nova Southeastern University.

The newly established function within leadership comes as the company plans to add 100 new restaurants by 2015.