Leadership

Cheesecake Factory vet takes helm of Not Your Average Joe's

Peter D'Amelio succeeds founder Steve Silverstein, who assumes operation of the concept's first store.

Peter D’Amelio, a former president of The Cheesecake Factory, has been appointed chairman and CEO of the regional casual-dining chain Not Your Average Joe’s, succeeding founder Steve Silverstein.

Peter d'Amelio

Silverstein remains a director of the company he launched in 1994 with the opening of a Not Your Average Joe’s in Dartmouth, Mass. He will also serve as a consultant, and has purchased the original store as a personal holding. It remains a Not Your Average Joe’s.

“It is time for Not Your Average Joe’s to transition from being founder-led,” Silverstein said in a statement. “ I couldn’t be more pleased than to turn the reins over to Peter.”

Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. is a major stakeholder in the chain. The chain consists of 22 high-volume restaurants along the Eastern corridor of the U.S., with most concentrated in New England.

D’Amelio joined the operation in September as president, assuming many day-to-day responsibilities from Silverstein. He has held the CEO’s job at a number of casual and small limited-service chains, most recently at Matchbox Food Group, the Washington, D.C.-based parent of the Matchbox wood-fired pizza chain.

Earlier, he served as president and COO for Cooper’s Hawk, the regional polished-casual chain, and spent 18 years at Cheesecake, including five as president.

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