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Punch Bowl Social names corporate chef as part of expansion plans

‘Eatertainment’ concept secures $20M in additional funding

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

November 14, 2018

2 Min Read
Punch Bowl Social names corporate chef as part of expansion plans
Amber Boutwell, Punch Bowl Social

Casual-dining and entertainment concept Punch Bowl Social has hired a new corporate chef to drive menu innovation as the chain expands.

Sheamus Feeley has been named the Denver-based company’s chief culinary and beverage officer, reporting directly to CEO Robert Thompson.

The 14-unit chain’s menu development had been under the direction of celebrity chef Hugh Acheson, who also owns and operates two restaurants in Athens, Ga., and three in Atlanta.

A Punch Bowl Social spokesperson said via email that Acheson “is still part of the Punch Bowl Social family and integral to the historic fabric of the company’s culinary program, [but] as Punch Bowl Social continues to grow and expand, he is out of time capacity to serve in his current role.” 

Feeley’s formative years were spent at the Hillstone Restaurant Group, operator of the Houston’s and Hillstone concepts, where he worked for more than a decade in various roles, including executive chef and vice president. He also was vice president of culinary and kitchen innovation for BJ’s Restaurants and was on the opening team of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants in Denver. 

Additionally, he was part of the opening team of Farmstead Restaurant and Long Meadow Ranch in St. Helena, Calif.

Most recently, Feeley was founder and CEO of his own company, SF Hospitality and Consulting.

“Sheamus’s extensive experience at Hillstone, one of the most beloved and respected restaurant concepts in America, combined with his innovative culinary approach at Farmstead and high-volume, high-quality execution at BJ’s will play a pivotal role as we continue to expand throughout the country,” Thompson said in a statement.

“We never stop evolving and changing,” he added. “Having Sheamus on our leadership team enables the company to continue to aggressively develop and continuously improve our company and beverage programs during this exciting time for our growing company.” 

Feeley’s appointment came just before the chain announced a $20 million investment via CrowdOut Capital LLC, a web-based platform that allows smaller players to invest in corporate debt. This is the second time that Punch Bowl Social has received investment via CrowdOut. 

It also received a “significant investment” from L-Catterton in June of 2017.

“CrowdOut has been a great partner and has helped us grow to meet consumer demand for more locations,” Punch Bowl Social chief financial officer and principal Robert Cornog Jr. said in a statement. “CrowdOut provided the flexibility and efficiency we wanted because the CrowdOut loan was structured in a manner that provided the right capital, at the right terms and at the right time,” he added, without providing further detail. 

Punch Bowl Social’s 15th restaurant is slated to open in Alexandria, Va., on Dec. 8.

The chain’s management said earlier this year that it planned to expand to 25 locations by the end of 2019, using its existing 25,000-square-foot format as well as a smaller 12,500-square-foot option that it hopes to debut in the Texas cities of Dallas and Fort Worth next year.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@knect365.com 

Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality.

Hi is responsible for spotting and reporting on F&B trends across the country for both publications. 

He is the co-host of a podcast, Menu Talk with Pat and Bret, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities, and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: bret.thorn@informa.com

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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