NASHVILLE Tenn. O’Charley’s Inc. said it has hired development veteran Mike Ellis as its new chief development officer.
Ellis comes from BP Products North America where he served as vice president of asset management. At BP he was responsible for all aspects of development for a 3,500-unit fuel, convenience store and food operation under the BP Connect and Arco am/pm brands. He also oversaw the firm's divestment program. His resume also lists positions at Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, Darden Restaurants Inc. and Burger King Corp. Ellis worked on Olive Garden's 464-restaurant repositioning program, Revitalia.
At O'Charley's, Ellis is overseeing Project Rev'Olution, an upgrade program for the company's namesake brand, and Project Dressed to the Nines, a rebranding campaign for its 114-unit Ninety Nine Restaurants chain, a spokeswoman said. He is also identifying new sites for O’Charley’s, Ninety Nine and the company's third chain, 10-unit Stoney River Legendary Steaks.
Ellis replaced James Quackenbush, who had been commuting from Massachusetts to O'Charley's headquarters here. Quackenbush will continue to act as a consultant to the company.