Former Inspire Brands executive Tim Casey has been tapped to lead Quiznos and Taco Del Mar as CEO of the newly formed Rego Restaurant Group, a subsidiary of private equity firm High Bluff Capital Partners, which acquired both brands last summer.
San Diego-based High Bluff said Casey will oversee the revitalization of both fast-casual brands as the firm looks to acquire more concepts.
“We are delighted that Tim has joined [High Bluff] to accelerate the reinvigoration of these great brands,” Anand Gowda, managing partner and firm founder, said in a statement. “We also continue to see considerable potential to further expand our platform through the acquisition of additional brands that will benefit from our targeted investment approach and integration strategy.”
Casey replaces Gerry Lopez, who oversaw High Bluff’s mid-2018 acquisitions of Quiznos and Taco Del Mar.
In a statement, Casey said he is excited to join High Bluff as it “looks to continue the revitalization of Quiznos and Taco Del Mar, increase its brand portfolio and extend this innovative platform.”
Casey comes to Quiznos and Taco Del Mar with extensive experience working at limited-service brands including Qdoba, PepperJax Grill, Mrs. Fields, Rusty Taco and Starbucks. He was president and CEO of fast-casual cheesesteak sub chain PepperJax and president of Qdoba while it was still owned by Jack in the Box Inc.
In April of last year, Casey was named brand head of R Taco, which was rebranded in September as Rusty Taco by parent company Inspire Brands.
When High Bluff purchased Quiznos in June, the sandwich chain had about 800 locations in 32 countries. High Bluff purchased Taco Del Mar a month later. At the time, Taco Del Mar had more than 100 franchised locations in the United States and Canada.
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