Darden Restaurants, Marco's Pizza and more make executive moves

Executive Summary: The president of LongHorn Steakhouse has a new job at its parent company, Marco's Pizza promotes John Meyers to chief operating officer, Biscuitville shakes up its leadership and more executive news of the week.

The president of LongHorn Steakhousehas a new job at parent company Darden Restaurants. Todd Burrowes will become Darden’s president of business development, effective May 27. Burrowes has been president of LongHorn since 2015, and the steak chain has become a star of Darden’s portfolio during his tenure. Darden also owns Olive Garden, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and other full-service chains. The company did not respond to a request for comment about the personnel change.

John Meyers has been promoted to chief operating officer of Marco’s Pizza. He was previously the brand’s SVP of finance and business intelligence, and his background includes stints at Darden Restaurants and The Walt Disney Company.

Casual-dining chain Bar Louie added two executives to its team to drive franchise development.

Brian DeHart, Bar Louie

Brian DeHart was named VP of franchise operations and Steve Culbert assumes the role of VP of franchise sales and administration. DeHart is a Bar Louie veteran, a former GM who recently served as director of operations. Culbert has over three decades of industry experience including positions at Carrabba’s, Bennigan’s, Einstein’s Bagels and Tijuana Flats.

Biscuitville Fresh Southern recently announced several internal promotions:

‌Kim Avery was named vice president of operations in February, leading field operations for restaurants in North and South Carolina and Virginia. Previously a region vice president, she joined the company in 2022.

‌Heather Banner was named area director in February, reporting to Avery. She joined the company in 2019 as an operator.

‌Jason Malone was promoted to director of culinary operations. The company didn’t identify his previous title, but said Malone’s contributions to culinary innovation over the past four years for the brand have been invaluable.

‌Stephen Mueller joined the company in February as corporate executive chef, a new role for the chain. He is tasked with driving innovation and evolution of Biscuitville’s culinary systems and helping to expand the existing menu and limited time offers. His previous experience includes P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, the Farmers Restaurant Group in Washington, D.C., and most recently he was senior director of culinary operations for Tupelo Honey Café, based in North Carolina.

Chester’s Chicken hired Bill Rice as EVP, head of sales, operations and supply chain. Rice comes to the chicken chain with nearly four decades of experience in foodservice supply chain management, most recently as a senior vice president with Krispy Krunch Foods.

Eggs Up Grill, based in Spartanburg, S.C., last month named Chrissy McKinney vice president of marketing and communications. McKinney served previously at Denny’s, where she was the senior director of marketing strategy. Eggs Up, which ended 2023 with 73 units and 100 in the pipeline, has doubled the size of its support team since 2019.

Minneapolis-based Dairy Queen has named Gregg Benvenuto its new VP of franchise development in the U.S. and Canada. Benvenuto has years of franchise development experience, having worked with such companies as Applebee’s owner Dine Brands, Papa Murphy’s and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

David Oland was appointed executive chef at Mercat a la Planxa, an independent Spanish restaurant in Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel. Chef Oland’s first project is the launch of “Culinary Tours through Spain,” a rotating tasting dinner focusing on the distinctive cuisine of different Spanish regions. He brings over 30 years of hospitality industry experience to the job.