Twin Restaurant Holdings, parent to the 68-unit Twin Peaks restaurant chain, has named industry veteran Starlette Johnson CEO, succeeding company founder Randy DeWitt, the company said Monday.
The Addison, Texas-based company said the executive change will allow DeWitt to spend more time on various other restaurant ventures at Twin Peaks parent Front Burner Restaurants LP, which includes such concepts as Velvet Taco, Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, Red Dog Right and Ida Claire among its 11 restaurants in the Dallas area.
Johnson, who worked at Brinker International Inc. as chief strategic officer and executive vice president in the international division, has served as an adviser to Twin Peaks since January. She worked with DeWitt in 2001 after Brinker acquired his Rockfish Grill concept.
"Bringing Starlette on board allows me more time to focus on my first love, creating and developing new restaurants, while providing Twin Peaks with the strong dedicated leader it deserves," DeWitt said in a statement. "Starlette is a proven leader and strategic thinker who is the perfect person to help us take Twin Peaks to the next level of growth."
Johnson has served as a restaurant industry consultant since 2011, and she serves on the boards of directors at Austin, Texas-based Chuy's Inc., the casual-dining Mexican chain, and SusieCakes, a bakery chain.
Previously, she served as president and chief operating officer at Dallas-based Dave & Buster's, the big-box entertainment and restaurant chain. She began her career as director of finance for PepsiCo's KFC division.
"I am excited to have the chance to partner with Randy and lead a very talented team," Johnson said. "Randy has an uncanny sense of where the consumer is going, which will be invaluable as we work to further enhance the Twin Peaks brand. We'll continue to focus on elevating the experience for our guests, which will create new growth opportunities for our people and partners."
In May, a shootout between motorcycle gangs, as well as with police, at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, ended with nine people dead, 18 injured and 170 suspects arrested. Front Burner revoked the franchise agreement of the unit after the incident.
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