Taco John's hires two more former Arby's execs

Taco John’s International has hired two more former Arby’s executives to lead the quick-service chain’s development team, the company said Tuesday.

Dan James, former national vice president of real estate for Arby’s Restaurant Group, has been named chief development officer at Taco John’s, a newly created position.

Van Ingram, who served previously as Arby’s senior director of franchise development for North America, was appointed vice president of franchise development at Taco John’s, replacing Brett Miller, who left about six months ago.

The two hires come after the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based chain brought in Jeff Linville, a former Arby’s senior vice president, as chief executive in April. And in May, former Arby’s senior director of franchise operations Shawn Eby was named Taco John’s vice president of operations.

James, the new chief development officer, is a 29-year industry veteran whose experience also includes work at McDonald’s and Hardee’s. In a statement, he said he plans to identify growth opportunities for Taco John’s in current markets, then to expand out into undeveloped markets.

“Taco John’s has great performing restaurants in the outlying areas of several large cities, and one goal will be to develop in more densely populated metropolitan areas,” he said.

James and Ingram are tasked with creating processes for real estate, design and construction to drive new growth, the company said.

“That starts with our existing franchisees,” said Ingram. “Some franchisees have been with us 20 to 40 years. We want to give them a chance to grow within the Taco John’s brand with more support and resources than they’ve received in the past. We will also aggressively pursue multi-unit franchisees of other concepts and new franchisees entering the industry.”

Taco John’s operates and franchises more than 400 restaurants in 25 states.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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