R.J. Melman is being promoted to CEO at Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, succeeding Kevin Brown in the role, the founder Richard Melman said Tuesday. The younger Melman will also continue as president.
R.
J. Melman succeeds Brown, who served as CEO of Lettuce since 2001, the Chicago-based restaurant group said. Brown will transition to executive chairman of Lettuce Entertain You and focus on Lettuce Consulting, the company added.
“When I look at R.J., it solidifies my belief in Lettuce’s future,” Richard Melman, company founder and chairman, said in a statement.
R.J. Melman was named president of Lettuce in 2017. Under his leadership, Lettuce has expanded to new markets, including Austin, Texas; Miami; and Orlando, Fla. The company expects to expand to Dallas and Nashville, Tenn., soon, it said.
The younger Melman and his partners founded the country music and barbecue festival, Windy City Smokeout. The four-day festival has combined barbecue, beer and country music for more than decade and continues to attract more than 90,000 guests each summer to the United Center in Chicago. That division expects to expand the Smokeout brand this year to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with the Lone Star Smokeout.
R.J. Melman, who is active within the Chicago philanthropic and business communities and was chapter chair of the Young Presidents Organization in 2020-2021, serves on the board of Northwestern Hospital and Choose Chicago.
He previously served on the board of Del Taco Restaurants for seven years when it was a publicly traded company. The brand sold to San Diego, Calif.-based Jack in the Box Inc. in 2022.
R.J. Melman was named to Nation’s Restaurant News’ Power List in 2020.
Privately held Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant, founded in 1971 by Richard Melman and Jerry Orzoff, owns, manages, and licenses more than 100 restaurants in Illinois, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. It opened with R.J. Grunts and now has more than 60 concepts ranging from fast-casual to fine-dining restaurants.
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