DENVER Ken Keymer has been hired to succeed Debra Koenig as chief executive officer of Vicorp Restaurants Inc., parent here of the Village Inn and Bakers Square family restaurant chains, according to The Denver Business Journal.
Keymer resigned in early March as president and CEO of AFC Enterprises, the Atlanta-based parent of the Popeyes quick-service chain. At the time, AFC said that Keymer would not leave the company until the end of March, but gave no reason for his resignation.
The Business Journal reported that Koenig resigned her posts at Vicorp on March 5. She had served as chairman as well as CEO. Koenig had joined Vicorp in 2003 after serving as a regional president of McDonald’s Corp. Her position at the burger giant had been eliminated through a restructuring. She was a 25-year veteran of McDonald’s.
Keymer had lived and worked in the greater Denver area when he served as president of the Boulder, Colo.-based Noodles & Co. fast-casual chain.
Vicorp owns or franchises more than 400 restaurants under the Village Inn and Bakers Square names. The company was acquired in a $250 million buyout in 2003 by the investment firm Wind Point Partners.