Leadership

Firebird announces new CFO

Firebird Restaurant Group has announced the return of Brian Livingston as chief financial officer.

Livingston previously served as CFO for Firebird and its affiliates from 2010 to 2014 and most recently served as CFO for Celebrity Cafe & Bakery.

“We are thrilled to welcome Brian back to the team,” said Mike Karns, founder and CEO of Firebird Restaurant Group LLC, in a statement. “Brian is a dynamic leader and played a key role in shaping Firebird during his previous tenure. We look forward to his leadership during our next phase of growth.”

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