Thomas A. Garrett (born in Gadsden, Alabama in 1962), [1] is a former president and CEO of Arby's, an American fast food restaurant chain. He is currently CEO and founder of GPS Hospitality. [2]
He was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Triarc from September 2007 through September 2008. Previously, he served as president and chief operating officer of Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. Garrett served as chief operating officer of ARG following Triarc's acquisition of the RTM Restaurant Group in July 2005 to June 2006. From June 2003 to July 2005, Garrett served as president of RTM, and from May 2000 to June 2003, he served as chief operating officer of RTM." [3]
Garrett, who worked for the company for nearly 30 years, became President in September 2008 but left the company in January 2010 after Arby's suffered disappointing sales. [4]
Before Triarc bought RTM Group, (for which Garrett was president), Garrett was an assistant manager for Arby's in Gadsden, Alabama in 1980, Garrett rose through the ranks to become Chief operating officer when he was 44 years old. [5]
Garrett acquired 42 Burger King franchises under his new company, GPS Hospitality, which was formed in June 2012 and the company’s first day of business was Oct. 19. GPS will focus on "reaching 100 restaurants in the next five years." [6]
Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips was a fast food seafood restaurant chain. At the peak of its popularity in the late 1970s, it had more than 800 stores. However, as of June 2021, there is only one Arthur Treacher's location remaining. The menu offers fried seafood or chicken, accompanied by chips.
Sonic Corp., founded as Sonic Drive-In and more commonly known as Sonic, is an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain owned by Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings. As of 2021, 3,529 Sonic restaurants are located in 46 U.S. states. In 2020, Sonic was ranked 14th in QSR Magazine's rankings of the top 50 quick-service and fast-casual restaurant brands in the nation. Known for its use of carhops on roller skates, the company annually hosts a competition to determine the top skating carhop in its system.
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, Food & Wine called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain ".
Hala Moddelmog became the first female president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) in January 2014 following a career in the corporate and non-profit sectors. Moddelmog has 19 years of career experience in president and CEO roles. Her areas of expertise are strategic planning, marketing, brand and product development, and assembling and managing high performance teams and brand revitalization.
Gregory D. Brenneman is an American businessman. He serves as the chairman of CCMP Capital, an American private equity firm.
Back Yard Burgers, Inc., is an American regional franchise chain of quick serve restaurants. Its headquarters are located in Nashville, Tennessee. As of September 2020, there are 46 restaurants in the Southern and Midwestern United States,
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, or simply Red Robin, is an American chain of casual dining restaurants founded in September 1969 in Seattle, Washington. In 1979, the first franchised Red Robin restaurant was opened in Yakima, Washington. Red Robin's headquarters are in Greenwood Village, Colorado. As of August 2020, the company had over 570 restaurants in operation with 90 being operated as a franchise.
Buffalo Wild Wings is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam which specializes in Buffalo wings and sauces.
The predecessor to what is now the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King was founded in on July 23, 1953 in Jacksonville, Florida, as Insta-Burger King. Inspired by the McDonald brothers' original store location in San Bernardino, California, the founders and owners, Keith J. Cramer and his step father Matthew Burns, began searching for a concept. After purchasing the rights to two pieces of equipment called "Insta" machines, the two opened their first stores around a cooking device known as the Insta-Broiler. The Insta-Broiler oven proved so successful at cooking burgers, they required all of their franchises to carry the device. After the original company began to falter in 1959, it was purchased by its Miami, Florida, franchisees James McLamore and David R. Edgerton. The two initiated a corporate restructuring of the chain; the first step being to rename the company Burger King. The duo ran the company as an independent entity for eight years, eventually expanding to over 250 locations in the United States, when they sold it to the Pillsbury Company in 1967.
The majority of the locations of international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King are privately owned franchises. While the majority of franchisees are smaller operations, several have grown into major corporations in their own right. At the end of the company's fiscal year in 2015, Burger King reported it had more than 15,000 outlets in 84 countries; of these, approximately 50% are in the United States and 99.9% are privately owned and operated. The company locations employ more than 37,000 people who serve approximately 11.4 million customers daily.
Shelly Frank is a United States restaurant executive best known as the former head of the Mexican-restaurant franchise Chi-Chi's, serving as its CEO, Chairman, and President from 1977 to 1986. He was credited as "spearheading Chi-Chi's growth from a single Minneapolis restaurant to a national chain."
The Wendy's Company is an American holding company for the major fast food chain, Wendy's. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio. The company was known as Deisel-Wemmer Co. from 1884 to 1929, Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Corporation from 1929 to 1946, DWG Cigar Corporation from 1946 to 1966, DWG Corporation from 1966 to 1993, Triarc Companies, Inc. from 1993 to 2008, and Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. from 2008 to 2011, and assumed its current name in 2011. The company's principal subsidiary, Wendy's International, is the franchisor of Wendy's restaurants.
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. The company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc Companies Inc., a publicly-traded company and the parent company of Arby's. Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as The Wendy's Company.
Clyde Rucker is an American entrepreneur and businessman who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rucker Restaurant Holdings. As of 2019, he owns 80 Jack in the Box and Denny's restaurants in Arizona and Texas.
Michael James Snyder was an American business executive, who is best known for having been the first franchisee of the Red Robin restaurant chain. He was later named President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of the concern.
Dickey's Barbecue Pit is an American family-owned barbecue restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas, and is a subsidiary of Dickey's Capital Group.
Danny Garrett is a businessman and an American politician who has served District 44 in the Alabama House of Representatives since 2014. A member of the Republican Party, Garrett currently serves as the House Majority Whip. He represents the 44th House District in Jefferson County, which includes the cities of Trussville, Clay and portions of Pinson.
GPS Hospitality is a privately held company that is primarily a franchisee for quick service restaurants (QSR), including Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Burger King and Pizza Hut. GPS Hospitality was founded by Thomas A. Garrett in 2012 and has over 10,000 employees.
Ahmass Fakahany is CEO and owner of the Altamarea Group, a global food and beverage hospitality group he founded in 2008 with Chef Michael White. Prior to that, he was Global President and Chief Operating Officer of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. He also founded Atelier House Hospitality, a boutique hospitality services firm based in New York City and Dubai.
Paul J. Brown is an American businessman and the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Brands. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Arby’s.