NASHVILLE Tenn. O'Charley's Inc., parent to 372 casual-dining restaurants under the O’Charley’s, Stoney River Legendary Steaks and Ninety Nine Restaurants chains, said Thursday it has promoted Jeffrey D. Warne to president and chief executive. He also was appointed to the company's board.
In addition, O'Charley's announced Thursday that industry veteran Philip J. Hickey, who joined the company’s board in January, had been elected chairman.
O'Charley's former chairman and CEO, Gregory Burns, retired earlier this year after 25 years with the company.
Warne, 48, joined O'Charley's Inc. in 2006 as president of the company's eponymous dinnerhouse chain. Previously, he had served in various executive roles at Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and its T.G.I Friday's and Pick Up Stix brands.
“After conducting a nationwide search, our board concluded that Jeff Warne is the best candidate to lead the company,” Hickey said. “Since he became president of the O’Charley’s concept, he has strengthened its management team, accelerated the pace of food and beverage innovation and brought a structured and analytical approach to managing all aspects of the business.”
But Warne has his work cut out for him. Like many of its casual-dining peers, the recession has caused O’Charley’s to experience a steep decline in traffic, and the company has had to employ cost-cutting methods to shore up falling sales, including layoffs, frozen salaries and a redesigned hourly benefits program. It also has cut menu prices at its various chains.
For its first quarter ended April 19, O'Charley's reported a 31-percent slide in profit, which the company attributed to a drop-off in consumer spending. Same-store sales fell at all of its brands, including a 2.9-percent dip at O’Charley’s corporate stores, a 4.5-percent decline at Ninety Nine Restaurants, and 17.2-percent decrease at Stoney River.
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].
