GOLDEN Colo. Boston Market Corp. said Friday it has hired industry veteran Lane Cardwell Jr., a former Brinker International executive, to serve as president and chief executive of the 530-unit fast-casual chain.
Cardwell replaces Rick Arras, who resigned after two years of leading Boston Market to pursue other interests, the company said.
Cardwell’s almost 30-year career in foodservice includes stints with S&A Restaurant Corp. and Brinker, where he had been chief administrative officer and later chief executive of Eatzi’s Market and Bakery. He left Eatzi’s in 1999 but has been active on several corporate boards, including P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Taco Bueno, Fishbowl Marketing, Order Corner and Famous Dave’s of America.
Cardwell spent five months in 2008 as the interim chief executive and president of Famous Dave’s, and he said the experience whetted his appetite for another leadership role with a company.
“It made me miss how much I enjoyed working with people day in and day out to make something better,” Cardwell said. “It lit the fuse for me. When I was approached by Boston Market, it was one of the very few companies I was willing to change my life for, to resign all the boards I’m on and move from [Dallas] where I have lived for 39 years.”
Cardwell has known previous Boston Market chief executives, including the late Mike Jenkins, who steered the company through a bankruptcy in the late 1990s, and Scott Beck, who developed the chain when it was known as Boston Chicken and branded it as a “home meal replacement” concept.
McDonald’s Corp. bought Boston Market in 2000 but sold the struggling chain seven years later to private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. In the past two years, Boston Market's unit count has fallen by about 100 restaurants.
“Lane is a highly accomplished professional with an impressive track record on moving the needle forward for growing restaurant businesses,” said Chris Metz, a managing director at Sun Capital. “His consummate experience and knowledge of the industry will be of great benefit to Boston Market, which has made good progress under Rick Arras’ leadership.”
Sun Capital Partners has ownership stakes in several other restaurant companies, including Fazoli's, Bruegger's and Friendly's.
Contact Dina Berta at [email protected].
