Shake Shack has appointed John Karangis to the newly created position of executive chef and vice president of culinary innovation, effective Oct. 29. Previously, Karangis spent seven years as executive chef for New York City-based Union Square Events, the catering and events arm of Union Square Hospitality Group, a sister company of Shake Shack. Before… read more

FM Restaurants HoldCo, LLC, an affiliate of Z Capital Group, LLC, a leading alternative asset manager of opportunistic, value-oriented private equity and credit funds, announced the appointments of Randy Sharpe as Chief Executive Officer and Ned Algeo as Chief Financial Officer. With nearly two decades of regional and national management experience at a variety of… read more

Vipul Chawla has been promoted to president of Pizza Hut International, effective Dec. 3. He will succeed Milind Pant, who will step down at the end of November to pursue opportunities outside of the company. Mr. Chawla has been with Pizza Hut for seven years, most recently as managing director of Pizza Hut Asia-Pacific. Earlier,… read more

To Our Loyal Readers: It is now officially Fall and the leaves are changing; however, my CUBS are in the playoffs as a Wild Card team. In the playoffs as in business, strategy is the key to success. I would like to share with you an “old” new tool that many Fortune 500 firms have… read more

David Zadikoff, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Restaurant Group, announced Wednesday that Josh Zadikoff will take on the role of president at the hospitality company, which oversees Chef Bill Kim’s bellyQ and urbanbelly restaurants in Chicago as well as iconic Michael Jordan-brand restaurants throughout the country, among others. The announcement comes as Josh Zadikoff leads… read more

Roger Eaton, CEO of the KFC Division of Yum Brands Inc., will retire at the end of the year and will be replaced Jan. 1 by president and COO Tony Lowings, the company said Friday. Lowings, left, a 24-year veteran of Yum Brands, has vast experience running international growth for the Louisville-based company, which is also parent… read more

Boston Market has named Eric Wyatt its chief operating officer, the Golden, Colo.-based company said. Most recently he was vice president of operations for a large Panera Bread franchisee where he oversaw day-to-day operations including retail, marketing, recruiting, human resources, catering facilities and bakery. He also has held senior operations roles at Starbucks, Taco Bell,… read more

The owners of Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and La Boulangerie have added to their portfolio of niche brands with the acquisition Wednesday of Loving Cup, a popular six-unit dessert shop in San Francisco. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We bought Loving Cup because it fit nicely into our strategy of curating intimate, local brands… read more

Keurig Dr Pepper has entered into an agreement to acquire Core Nutrition L.L.C. for $525 million. Core Nutrition is a manufacturer of Core Hydration, a bottled water, and Core Organic, and the business has annual sales of approximately $200 million. Prior to the acquisition agreement, Keurig Dr Pepper and Core Nutrition were working together. Approximately… read more

The restaurant industry has to contend with a new giant. The parent of Arby’s, Inspire Brands Inc., announced that it had agreed to acquire Sonic Corp. in a deal valued at about $2.3 billion, adding more than 3,600 locations of the burger chain to a portfolio that also includes Buffalo Wild Wings and Rusty Taco. The deal would… read more