Pinstripes hires CFO, CMO as it prepares public debut

Dive Brief:

Pinstripes has appointed Tony Querciagrossa as chief financial officer and Shannon Keller as chief marketing officer as it prepares to go public through a deal with Banyan Acquisition Corp, the company said in a Wednesday press release.
Querciagrossa has over 15 years of public and private equity general management and CFO experience. Keller has over two decades of marketing experience.
Pinstripes expects to go public when its transaction with Banyan Acquisition Corp. is completed during the fourth quarter.

Dive Insight:

Both Querciagrossa and Keller’s experience could be instrumental in the company’s public and its growth trajectory. The company believes there is whitespace across the U.S. for about 150 units, and its concept appeals to large landlords because it can occupy spaces of 25,000-plus square feet.

Pinstripes has 14 existing locations and five units under construction, with plans to add new venues. Pinstripes has about 50 locations under consideration and its new units tend to have over $9 million in sales by the second year.

The company tends to partner with real estate companies as part of its development strategy. Simon, Westfield, Brookfield and four other real estate companies have invested a combined $40 million in Pinstripes, while also working together to build a Pinstripes on their properties. Westfield in Topanga, California, added a Pinstripes to its mall as part of a larger $250 million redevelopment, according to an investor presentation.

Querciagrossa’s past positions included “building and leading highly effective global teams across businesses with varying levels of scale and complexity,” the company said. Most recently, Querciagrossa was president of Columbus Industries, a manufacturer of residential filtration and an operating company of Filtration Group Corporation. He also has held roles at Purafil Inc., Medline Industries and General Electric.

Keller has expertise in many areas of marketing, such as branding, communications, digital, advertising and public relations, according to the press release. She served as CMO of True Food Kitchen for seven years, during which she helped grow the multi-unit chain from 10 to 40 locations nationwide. She also held roles at global marketing firms Weber Shandwick Worldwide and PMK-BNC.