Dive Brief:
- Ascent Hospitality Management, which has a portfolio of about 600 Huddle House and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery locations, hired James O’ Reilly as its CEO, the company said Monday.
- O’Reilly succeeds Michael Abt, who has served as CEO since 2012, and starts on June 19.
- In his new role, O’Reilly will oversee the company’s next phase of development across its two brands and build upon its existing network of franchise and company-operated restaurants. He will also help identify additional brands for Ascent to add to its portfolio.
Dive Insight:
O’Reilly has served as CEO of Smokey Bones since 2019, during which time he implemented several off-premise strategies, including virtual restaurant brands and a traditional drive-thru. This experience could be ideal for Ascent, which already has virtual brand Bakery by Perkins.
O’Reilly also previously led Long John Silver’s as CEO and held leadership positions at Sonic and Yum Brands domestically and internationally, according to the press release.
Both Huddle House and Perkins are actively growing and expanding their pipelines for development. Earlier this year, Perkins, which has 290 total units, signed a new franchise deal with Ohio Valley Hospitality to open a restaurant inside an IHG Hotel and Resort property in June 2024, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive. Huddle House, which currently has over 300 locations open or in development, signed a new deal with an existing franchisee that operates seven locations in Kentucky to open an additional two locations in the state, according to an press release emailed to Restaurant Dive.
"We have significant opportunities ahead to grow and expand both restaurant brands and I look forward to working with our franchisees and the Ascent team to maximize our potential,” O’Reilly said.
