News

Verts hires NYC agency, former Chipotle designer to refresh branding, voice

April 12, 2017

Verts Mediterranean Grill has hired Michael Talese as its creative director.

Previous to Verts, Talese was a senior designer at Chipotle Mexican Grill where he focused on a full digital refresh, updated mobile ordering app and assisted in moving Chipotle.com to a fully customizable CMS backend. In addition to these projects, he was crucial in the creation and brand development of Chipotle's growth seed restaurants that include Pizzeria Locale and Tasty Made, according to a company press release.

Michael Talese

"Michael is a fast-casual brand visionary and we are thrilled to have him lead our creative direction," Verts co-founder and co-CEO Michael Heyne, said in a company news release. "We are focused on building a modern, best in class fast-casual 2.0 brand and Michael will be a driving force behind this mission."

Verts’ aggressive growth plan and ambition is unrivaled, said Talese. 

"I'm ready to utilize my experience in fast-casual to shape the creative expression of this thriving brand,"  he said in a company news release.

In addition to hiring Talese, Verts has partnered with Gin Lane, a New York creative agency that has worked with Whole Foods Market, Nike and Warby Parker. Over the next few months, Talese will work with its team of designers and strategists to reshape and fine-tune the brand's voice and tone.

This summer, Verts will unveil a fresh restaurant interior produced by Core architecture + design inc.

The recent creative director hire and design partnerships will support Verts' plans on growing to 45 restaurants by end of 2017, according to the release.