News

Little Greek, Moe's, The Habit add to leadership teams

July 22, 2019

Little Greek Fresh Grill, The Habit Burger and Moe's Southwest Grill this week announced a few changes to their respective leadership teams.

In an effort to enhance its franchise growth, Little Greek promoted Bryan St. George, who had been serving as vice president of operations and development for the Florida-based brand, to COO.

"We are lucky to have Bryan in this new role for Little Greek Fresh Grill and working with our franchise operators," Nick Vojnovic, president, said in a press release. "He brings extensive restaurant experience to our table."

St. George previously worked for AmRest Holdings SE, the largest independent restaurant operator in Central and Eastern Europe with 1,000 locations in 13 countries, as well as TGI Friday's, Beef O'Brady's, Arby's, Big Boy restaurants and Boneheads Franchise LLC, which experienced triple growth during his tenure.

"Our Little Greek brand is now established, and we are poised for future growth," St. George said in the release. "Not only in existing locations, but also new, untapped markets."

Little Greek Fresh Grill has locations in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas and will add to those states with additional openings in the Dallas Metroplex and Metro Orlando markets.

The Habit adds VP of digital

The Habit Burger Grill, based in California with more than 250 units, hired Brandon LaChance as vice president of digital marketing to lead its communications strategy and digital guest experience. LaChance, who held leadership roles in marketing at Carl’s Jr./Hardee's and Burger King, most recently served as senior vice president of digital at Edelman, a global communications firm, according to a press release.

"Investing in people and marketing capabilities will contribute to amplifying what makes our brand unique, and we believe these are important levers to driving our business," Habit Burger Grill Chief Development Officer Iwona Alter said in the release. "We are very excited to welcome Brandon to the Habit team and look forward to adding his expertise as another layer to growing our brand."

The Habit has been strategically investing in marketing and digital platforms such as mobile app and self-service kiosks to leverage the company's points of differentiation, Alter said.

Moe's Southwest Grill hires executive chef

Moe's Southwest Grill has hired Jason Gronlund as its executive chef, according to a press release. The former culinary director of Hard Rock Cafe will be responsible for leading the development and execution of culinary strategies and driving innovation at Moe's.

"With a robust multi-year product innovation calendar, Moe's was looking for a chef that thinks creatively outside the box while leveraging the knowledge of franchise operations in order to successfully bring to market new menu items that our fans will crave," Moe's CMO Verchele Wiggins Roberts, said in the release "We're thrilled for Chef Gronlund to join our team and see what new creations he develops in our test kitchen here in Atlanta throughout the coming months."

Gronlund has also served as director of ingredient sales and culinary services at Tobasco and held a similar position at Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, a Florida-based casual dining brand with 63 units.

"When working on a brand like Moe's Southwest Grill, which has such a loyal and passionate fan base, it's imperative to strike a balance between maintaining the core culinary elements and flavors while also pushing innovation that reaches new audiences," Gronlund said in the release. "I'm looking forward to diving into the Southwest flavors that make the Moe's menu distinctive in the fast casual Mexican segment and optimizing the iconic 'Welcome to Moe's!' atmosphere that keeps our fans coming back week after week."

Founded in 2000, and based in Atlanta, Moe's has more than 700 franchised locations.