Name: Jermaine Walker

New title: VP of operations, Krystal

Previous title: VP of operations, Slutty Vegan

Krystal has hired Jermaine Walker as VP of operations, the company announced Monday. Walker joins the burger chain from Slutty Vegan, a vegan burger brand based out of Atlanta, where he worked as SVP of operations for about a year. Prior to his tenure at Slutty Vegan, Walker spent almost 10 years as director of operations at GPS Hospitality, a franchisee of Burger King, Popeyes and Pizza Hut with almost 500 restaurants, according to the press release.

Walker previously worked at TGI Fridays, according to the press release, where he oversaw the opening of high-sales units and helped hire hundreds of workers for multi-unit openings.

At Krystal, Walker will be responsible for helping the brand execute its growth strategy. He “will be focused on building solid crews through recruitment, in addition to designing new processes to further improve quality, increase productivity, and profitability,” the company wrote in a press release.

For years before 2020, Krystal struggled to attract new franchisees and saw stagnant or declining sales, resulting in a bankruptcy on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortress Investment Group bought the brand for $48 million. Since then, Krystal has developed new prototypes optimized for off-premise ordering and seen sales turn around. The chain even resumed franchising after 15 years, and expanded to Puerto Rico last year. In 2022, Krystal hired a new CFO and a new chief marketing officer to support its brand turnaround efforts. The chain plans to grow to about 500 units by 2027.

Earlier this year, the chain’s first redesigned small unit opened in Alabama —the first company store to open in over six years, according to the announcement. At 1,700 square feet, it is about 1,000 square feet smaller than a standard Krystal.