Fiesta Restaurant Group doubles down on off-premise dining

Fiesta Restaurant Group has named Willie Romeo its first corporate director of off-premise consumption as part of its effort to double off-premise business during the next decade, the company announced Tuesday.

Romeo—who most recently served as the director of franchise operations for Fiesta Restaurant Group’s Pollo Tropical brand—will focus on all aspects of the company’s off-premise business, including to-go, online and mobile app ordering, drive-thru and catering, the company said.

Prior to joining Fiesta Restaurant Group, Romeo held franchise and operations roles at Dunkin’ Brands and Burger King.

“We have an aggressive goal to double our off-premise business, and (Romeo) has a disciplined approach and can work across functions within our organization to lead us in achieving it,” Fiesta Restaurant Group CEO Tim Taft said.

Last month, Fiesta Restaurant Group reported second-quarter profit growth of 20.8 percent (year over year), with comp sales rising more than 4 percent at both of its fast-casual brands. 

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners