Jennifer Beougher, a former financial executive at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. and Bloomin’ Brands Inc., has been named the first chief financial officer of Ruby Slipper Restaurant Group.
She starts immediately, according to a statement released by the New Orleans-based restaurant company. The Ruby Slipper Café is a full-service restaurant that serves a daily menu of New Orleans-inspired brunch and lunch dishes. The brand operates 10 restaurants in Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida.
Beougher (left) most recently was vice president of financial planning and analysis at Cracker Barrel. Previously, at Bloomin’ Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Beougher held several positions including senior director of financial planning and analysis.
She comes to Ruby Slipper as the company accelerates growth and launches a new concept. Ruby Sunshine, an all-day brunch concept with the same menu of New Orleans-inspired breakfast foods, will open its first two Tennessee locations in 2019, in Knoxville and Franklin. Another Ruby Slipper Café is slated to open early next year in Metairie, La.
“Helping to shape the future of an iconic New Orleans company was an opportunity that I just couldn’t resist,” Beougher said in a statement.
Erich and Jennifer Weishaupt opened the first Ruby Slipper Café a decade ago in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans, which experienced extensive flooding and damage after Hurricane Katrina. The husband and wife duo, who lives in the community, hoped to revive the neighborhood with a menu of brunch and lunch specials influenced by classic New Orleans cuisine. Big Easy specialties include BBQ shrimp and grits, catfish and grits and Bananas Foster Pain Perdu. In 2017, the original location closed, and relocated to a larger space in Mid-City.
The Ruby Slipper Café was named a 2017 Breakout Brand by Nation’s Restaurant News.
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