Newly public fast casual BurgerFi has appointed Jim Esposito as chief operation officer.
Esposito comes to the company after most recently serving as vice president of operations for Planet Fitness. He has also worked for Panera Bread, Papa Gino’s and Burger King, where he spent more than a decade and served as senior director of global restaurant systems and development.
Esposito said he will work to help BurgerFi achieve its 30% projected growth goal this year.
“This is a brand that is built on quality at every touch point—the people, the food, the restaurants and the best-in-class omnichannel technology platforms,” he said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with the leadership team to continue BurgerFi’s acceleration as a public company.”
During his time at Panera, Esposito worked to improve drive-thru efficiencies as well as a system that met the differentiated needs of to-go, dine-in and large-order delivery customers.
“Jim Esposito has a strong record of delivering rapid business results while positioning franchised and corporate-owned businesses to greater levels of profitability and operational efficiencies,” BurgerFi CEO Julio Ramirez said in a statement.
BurgerFi went public late last year after it was acquired by Opes Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The better-burger brand plans to open 30 to 35 company and franchised stores this year, and 40 to 45 new locations in 2022.
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