BBQ Holdings, Inc.,the multi-brand restaurant company behind fan-favorite restaurant concepts such as Famous Dave’s and Granite City Food and Brewery, and the newly acquired Village Inn and Bakers Square, has announced the hiring of Manny Packing as the brand’s new vice president of franchise sales and real estate.
“I'm very excited to join the BBQ Holdings team, and appreciate the trust of the company's leadership,” said Packing. “The restaurant space is constantly evolving, especially today, and with over two decades of experience in the industry, I look forward to leveraging my expertise to help expand Famous Dave's footprint across the United States and the globe.”
Most recently, Packing was the Director of International Real Estate and Construction for Inspire Brands, the owner and franchisor of several legacy franchise brands, including Arby's, Sonic Drive-In, Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins. Here, Packing was responsible for onboarded new franchisees and led efforts to market, plan and develop new territories and build new restaurants across the company’s network of over 32,000 locations.
Packing has also held franchise sales, operations and other development roles with Buffalo Wild Wings, Pinkberry and Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and more. Packing holds a BA from UCLA and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Manny to our BBQ Holdings’s family and we are confident that he will be the perfect addition to our leadership team,” said BBQ Holdings’s CEO Jeff Crivello. “The BBQ Holdings portfolio is expanding rapidly and we are proud to have an experienced industry veteran like Manny to guide our growth. Manny will help us partner with the right candidates as we expand our footprint across the country and take our brand to the next level.”
About BBQ Holdings
BBQ Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBQ) is a national restaurant company engaged in the ownership and operation of casual and fast dining restaurants. As of September 20, 2021, BBQ Holdings had six brands with 296 locations in three countries including 84 Company owned locations and 213 franchised locations. In addition to these locations, the Company opened 8 Company-owned Famous Dave’s ghost kitchens operating within its Granite City locations, and 19 Famous Dave’s franchisee ghost kitchens operating out of the kitchen of another restaurant location or a shared kitchen space. While BBQ Holdings continues to diversify its ownership in the restaurant community, it was founded with the principle of combining the “art and science” of barbecue to serve up the very best of the best to barbecue lovers everywhere. BBQ Holdings, through partnerships, has extended Travis Clark’s award-winning line of barbecue sauces, rubs and seasonings into the retail market. Along with a wide variety of BBQ favorites served at their BBQ restaurants, BBQ Holdings newest addition, Granite City Food and Brewery, offers award winning craft beer and a made-from-scratch, chef driven menu featuring contemporary American cuisine. Village Inn and Bakers Square are the most recent additions to the company and add a legendary Family Dining element to BBQ Holdings.
