Dive Brief:

• Smokey Bones, a 62 unit full-service chain, has promoted Hal Lawlor, the company’s current COO, to the newly created role of president and COO, the company said in an email to Restaurant Dive Thursday.
• Lawlor takes over as top executive following the departure of CEO James O’Reilly, who became CEO of Ascent Hospitality Management earlier this month.
• Lawlor has been COO of Smokey Bones since 2019 and has over 25 years of restaurant experience, including several executive positions at Red Lobster and P.F. Chang’s.

Dive Insight:

While at Smokey Bones, Lawlor has helped revitalize the brand. He implemented processes to boost efficiency, improve the guest experience and optimize the company’s cost structure. This includes overseeing the use of AI machine learning to help improve operations in areas like table management and staff scheduling. 

Lawlor also brings experience with restaurant operations, customer preference, off-premise and market trends to his new position. As president, he will likely take on previous initiatives started under O’Reilly’s leadership, including several strategies to boost off-premise sales. Last year, the company launched BiteHall, its e-commerce platform for its virtual brands, including Smokey Bones, The Wing Experience, The Burger Experience, Bowl Market and Tender Box. The company also opened its first drive-thru last June at which it offered an express menu, including items that can be served in five minutes, and a full curbside menu for items that take longer. 

Smokey Bones has also developed a 5,500-5,700 square foot prototype that’s smaller than its traditional 8,000 square foot restaurant. The scaled-down prototype has more space dedicated to off-premise channels, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. O’Reilly told the publication that only about 25% of its business is off-premise, but all of its off-premise revenue that it gained during the pandemic has remained.