Beef 'O' Brady's Appoints New CEO

Beef O' Brady's, franchisor of 250 sports pubs, has appointed Chris Elliott as CEO.

Elliot spent the last 15 years in key senior leadership positions at recognized national food brands, including President of Cinnabon, President and COO of Morrison's Fresh Cooking, and COO of Church's Chicken. He also led in the creation of Fiesta Brands, an El Pollo Loco franchise in Atlanta, GA. Elliott's track record of success includes strategy development in difficult turnaround situations, taking Morrison's Fresh Cooking public, and spearheading the strategic divestiture of Cinnabon.

His top priorities for Beef 'O' Brady's are to grow unit-level sales, increase profitability, and expand the franchise system.

"Having been in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years, with five different brands at the corporate level, as well as having the experience as a franchisee, I understand how both sides need to work together to be successful," Elliott said. "I'm energized about the opportunity and challenge to grow Beef 'O' Brady's into a respected national brand."

Elliott will be replacing outgoing CEO Chuck Winship, who served with Beef 'O' Brady's since 1998 and helped grow the brand from 33 restaurants to more than 250 today.

"Chuck built a solid foundation for continued growth of Beef 'O' Brady's by refining the franchise model, extending the menu and proving that the concept could work anywhere," said Nick Vojnovic, President of Beef 'O' Brady's. "While his leadership will be missed, we're looking forward to a new chapter in the development of the Beef's brand with Chris."