New COO at Papa Johns

Papa John's taps Joseph Jude Thompson as president and chief operating officer
.

He has absolutely no food and beverage background.... is this a smart move? His experience is based in the insurance industry..... we'll see. The appointment might signal that Papa John's feels it needs to focus on it's internal operations and expansion is going to take a back seat...

Click on the link above to read the full article. Slice 'n Spice smells disaster. In this market, with so many great people looking for jobs they can't find someone who has a least a few years in F&B?

Slice 'n Spice thinks it important that the people running business have at least some industry related experience. Why can't they pick up a seasoned guy like David Goronkin?

related links:
http://www.wellpoint.com/ (the insurance company he previously lead)
Businesswire news line (where we got the photo)
Papa John's site

Industry Veteran David Goronkin Joins Bennigan's as President & CEO

From PR Newswire (click for full article)


The scoup:

Bennigan's is a vitage American brand of taverns. Heavilly centered on the east coast of the US until the '90. Expansion was very fast. They have locations all over the states and in more than a dozen countries. They have been particulary successfull in South Korea where they have more than 30 locations (almost as many as they have in the states).

Special note: They are doing well in places not traditionally known for liquor sales like Jordan and Brahim.

No China properties yet!

Spice 'n Slice has contaced them regarding China expansion plans.

After their quick expansion the company faultered. Just last year it looked like bankrupsy across the board. Vince Runco a CEO with TR Global was hired as a consultant and brought the company back from the brink of destruction. Under Runco they've settled most pending brankruptsy issues and even managed to open several new international properties.

Now industry big wig David Goronkin will step in as CEO. He's a director of the National Restaurant Association! Spice 'n Slice thinks the brand is in good hands. We look forward to them doing China market visits.....

bellow is excerpted directly from the article:

Throughout his career Mr. Goronkin has led several organizations through significant change and brand repositioning efforts leading to successful growth. Most recently he served as CEO, President and a director at Redstone American Grill, Inc., owner of several high-volume full-service restaurants.

Mr. Goronkin previously spent more than four years as President & CEO of Famous Dave's of America, the 170-unit, publicly-traded casual barbecue chain. Prior to joining Famous Dave's, he was Chief Operating Officer at Buffets, Inc., operator of the HomeTown Buffet and Old Country Buffet chains. He was an executive with the company for nearly 10 years and also served on its board of directors.

Related links:
http://www.famousdaves.com
redstone american grill
http://sev.prnewswire.com/restaurants/20090423/FL0405523042009-1.html