Strengthens leadership to maintain focus on growth
Huddle House, the family restaurant that brings friends and family together over delicious food served from the heart, recently announced Blain Shortreed as Brand President. Shortreed is a career restaurant professional with more than 30 years of experience leading top brands. As Huddle House Brand President, he will oversee company operations, the franchise system, marketing, and culinary innovation.
“We are thrilled to welcome Blain to the Ascent Hospitality Management Senior Executive Team as he assumes leadership of the Huddle House system,” said James O’Reilly, Chief Executive Officer for Ascent Hospitality Management. “He brings extensive restaurant operations and finance experience that will be incredibly valuable to the brand. He’s demonstrated throughout his career the ability to grow brands and will be vital as we continue to expand and evolve our organization.”
Shortreed’s career is characterized by a rich and multifaceted background spanning finance and operations with a wealth of experience. Shortreed has navigated through various progressive leadership roles in these critical domains. Prior to joining Huddle House, Shortreed served as Chief Executive Officer for Long John Silver’s, the world’s most popular quick-service seafood chain with nearly 600 restaurants, where he built a team to deliver on legacy brands’ turnaround strategy. He initially joined the company as its COO before taking on the Chief Executive Officer role.
Prior to Long John Silver’s, Shortreed served as Pizza Hut’s Vice President of Operations, responsible for the operations of more than 5,000 domestic corporate and franchise-owned locations. He successfully rebuilt the Middle East Pizza Hut team, fostering brand growth, establishing over 100 restaurants, and achieving remarkable increases in customer traffic, sales, and profits. He also served as Vice President of Operations for Yum! Restaurants Canada, where he oversaw operations for the company and franchised KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell locations.
“Huddle House is an iconic brand that boasts decades of success in the breakfast space and continues to innovate to drive growth opportunities. I am honored to join the organization and guide the team during such an exciting time,” said Blain Shortreed, Brand President for Huddle House.
Committed to serving “Any Meal, Any Time,” Huddle House restaurants have become icons in the communities they serve throughout the country by “Bringing Friends and Family Together, Over Delicious Food, Served from the Heart”. The core values on which the brand was founded – serving freshly prepared, quality home-style food in a warm, friendly environment that brings the community together – are as true today as they were when it was founded in 1964.
Today, the brand has more than 300 locations. It has been named one of the Top 200+ Franchises by Franchise Times, ranked among Thrillist’s list of “Regional Breakfast Chains that Should Be Everywhere,” and named a Top 500 Chain Restaurant by Restaurant Business.
Huddle House Inc. is an Ascent Hospitality Management brand. The company embraces innovation to grow and evolve its companies and people. To learn more about Huddle House franchise opportunities, visit HuddleHouseFranchising.com and for more information about the brand, visit the company website at HuddleHouse.com.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuddleHouse
Instagram: www.instagram.com/huddlehouse
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