Name: Rick Brown
New title: Chief financial officer, Brix Holdings
Previous title: Chief financial officer, TGI Fridays
Brix Holdings, the parent company of Friendly’s, Red Mango Yogurt Cafe & Juice Bar, and several other restaurant and foodservice chains, has hired Rick Brown as CFO, effective today, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive.
Brown spent the preceding 14 years at TGI Fridays, per his LinkedIn profile, joining that chain after a long stint at Blockbuster. According to his LinkedIn profile, he started his position at Brix in October. Brown rose from senior director of finance to CFO of the 650-unit casual dining chain. However, during that time, Fridays’ domestic unit count fell to 385 in 2020, according to Restaurant Business, a significant decline. By the end of 2022, according to the chain’s FDD, Fridays’ U.S. unit count shrank to just 292 stores.
At Brix, Brown will oversee the “financial and accounting functions across all brands under the BRIX Holdings umbrella,” including “Orange Leaf, Smoothie Factory + Kitchen, SouperSalad and Pizza Jukebox,” in addition to the brands named earlier.
According to the press release, Brix has seen “rapid growth in its legacy, newly acquired and internally created franchise concepts.”
In 2020, Brix’s affiliate Amici Partners acquired Friendly’s out of bankruptcy for just $2 million. Two years later, the holding company name Sherif Mityas as CEO, and named Dawn Petite as Friendly’s brand president. In August 2023, the company hired Luke Mandola Jr. as VP of franchise sales and development. Mandola was tasked with leading the early stages of a development plan for a “Friendly’s 2.0,” store prototype aimed at “putting the popular brand back on a strong growth plan, which includes new locations and franchise partners.”
