Founders Table Restaurant Group, the parent company of CHOPT Creative Salad Company and Dos Toros Taqueria, today announced A. William Allen III, an experienced executive in the restaurant industry, as the Chairman of its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Mr. Allen’s brings 30 years of unmatched knowledge and influence in the restaurant industry, with companies large and small. Mr. Allen was the CEO and Chairman of Bloomin Brands and oversaw the take private of the company in 2007. Previously, he was co-founder of Fleming’s which he grew and ultimately sold to Bloomin’ Brands. Earlier in his career, he served as President and CEO of La Madeleine. Over the past 10 years, Mr. Allen has leveraged his experience as an investor and advisor to many of the great growth brands in the restaurant industry today – including Barteca, Hopdoddy, Mendocino Farms, PF Changs, Piada, Uncle Julio’s, and Velvet Taco. Each of those roles have been as part of his long-term partnership with L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm and largest shareholder of Founders Table.
Founders Table, which launched in January 2020 to create, acquire and cultivate innovative and profitable founder-led companies, will leverage Allen’s deep expertise and business acumen as they continue to grow their roster of culinary concepts.
“Bill is a long-time mentor and friend,” said Nick Marsh, CEO of Founders Table. “We have worked together for the past 10 years. He will be instrumental to me in crafting our growth strategy and shaping the organization to continue our profitable growth.”
Allen is the latest addition to the Board, following the appointment of Robbie Robinson of Pendulum last month and its recent partnership with Founders Table to invest in FIELDTRIP led by James Beard award-winning chef JJ Johnson.
About Founders Table
Founders Table Restaurant Group launched in January 2020 in an effort to focus on creating, acquiring, and growing innovative, founder-led, line-out-the-door restaurant companies that include Chopt Creative Salad Company, Dos Toros Taqueria and FieldTrip. For each brand, the original founders remain focused on the quality of food and hospitality, while Founders Table builds the operating platform to further scale the businesses. Today, Chopt boasts 74 locations in major markets and Dos Toros operates 21 locations across the New York metropolitan area and Chicago.
For more information, visit www.founders-table.com
About L Catterton
With more than $30 billion of equity capital across its fund strategies and 17 offices around the world, L Catterton is the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad strategic network of relationships, L Catterton’s team of nearly 200 investment and operating professionals support management teams around the world in building strong, category-leading brands. Since 1989, the firm has made approximately 250 investments in consumer businesses. For more information about L Catterton, please visit lcatterton.com.
