James O’Reilly is stepping down as CEO of the Smokey Bones casual chain to assume the same post Monday at Ascent Hospitality Management, parent of the Huddle House and Perkins family-dining brands.
In his new post, O’Reilly will succeed Michael Abt, Ascent’s CEO since 2012.
Ascent said O’Reilly will be responsible for shepherding Huddle House and Perkins, two venerable all-day-dining chains with 600 restaurants in total, through a new growth phase. He will also scout for possible acquisitions for Ascent, the company said.
"We have significant opportunities ahead to grow and expand both restaurant brands and I look forward to working with our franchisees and the Ascent team to maximize our potential," O’Reilly said in a statement.
He has served as CEO of Smokey Bones, which was launched in 1999 as a barbecue concept by what’s now Darden Restaurants, the parent of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse. The chain grew to 129 stores before Darden closed 56 units on a single day in 2007 and sold the remaining 73 restaurants to Sun Capital Partners for $80 million.
Before joining the chain, O’Reilly was CEO of Long John Silver’s, the quick-service seafood chain that Yum Brands acquired as a possible co-branding partner for its other concepts, which at the time included A&W burger restaurants; KFC; Taco Bell; and Pizza Hut. Yum eventually moved away from co-branding and sold Long John and A&W.
He has also held senior management posts at the Sonic Drive-In chain, now a part of Inspire Brands.
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