Famous Dave's Names Wallace B. Doolin to its Board of Directors
September 29 2009 - 4:35PM
Business Wire
Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVE) today announced
that it had appointed Wallace (Wally) B. Doolin, former president
and chief executive officer of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (CRW)
and TGI Friday’s (“Friday’s”) and former chairman and chief
executive of Buca, Inc. to its board of directors.
“We’re delighted to be able to attract an individual of Wally
Doolin’s caliber to our board of directors, further expanding the
functional and strategic expertise of our board,” said K. Jeffrey
Dahlberg, chairman of the board of Famous Dave’s of America. “Wally
adds an amazing breadth of experience and a broad, seasoned
perspective to our business.”
Doolin, 63, currently is the founder and CEO of Black Box
Intelligence, a Dallas-based company that provides benchmarking
information and analysis for public and private restaurant
companies and serves as Executive Chairman and CEO of ESP Systems a
hospitality technology company. Additionally, Doolin serves as a
member of the board of directors of Caribou Coffee Company, of
Minneapolis and the leading organization to end childhood hunger,
Share Our Strength.
“Famous Dave’s is a great brand and I’m very pleased to join its
board of directors,” Doolin said. “I’ve been a great admirer, and
customer, of the brand for many years, and have always been
impressed with the passion and level of execution that Famous
Dave’s associates bring to the business each day.”
From November, 2004 through January, 2008, Doolin was Chairman,
President and CEO of Buca, Inc., operators of the Buca di Beppo
chain of restaurants, where he was responsible for developing
turnaround strategies for the chain. He served as CEO of La
Madeleine Bakery Café and Bistro, a 64-restaurant chain based in
Dallas, Texas from 2002 to 2004, and from 1994 to 2002 was CEO and
President of CRW and Friday’s, a casual dining restaurant company.
Doolin was a Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President of
CRW and Friday’s from 1989 to 1993.
During his more than 13 years with CRW and Friday’s, Doolin
oversaw Friday’s growth from 135 U.S. restaurants to more than 700
units in 57 countries. He also was responsible for the acquisition
of Pick Up Stix, which brought CRW’s restaurant total to 770. From
1984 to 1986, Mr. Doolin served as President of Applebee’s,
and from 1972 to 1989 he held senior leadership positions at W.R.
Grace’s Restaurant Division, Flakey Jake’s, Inc., and Steak and Ale
Restaurants.
Doolin has received the IFMA Silver Plate and NRN Golden Chain
awards; he is a board member emeritus of the National Restaurant
Association, and a past chairman of its Education Foundation.
“I can’t think of many individuals with the depth and breadth of
operational knowledge and experience that Wally Doolin brings to
this position,” Dahlberg said. “Wally has played a critical role in
building some of the nation’s pre-eminent casual dining chains, as
well as experience in guiding promising concepts during difficult
times. We’re pleased and honored that he has agreed to serve on our
board of directors.”
About Famous
Dave’s
Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVE) develops, owns,
operates and franchises Bar-B-Que restaurants. The award-winning
Bar-B-Que restaurants are known for barbequed and grilled meats,
sandwiches, side items, salads and unique desserts. With 178
locations in 38 states, Famous Dave's has won over 400 awards for
everything from best ribs to best Bar-B-Que sauce to best
cookbook.
The Famous Dave's family also includes a Famous Dave's Rib Team,
which has a stellar track record and has been ranked in first place
at competitions throughout the United States, including the Best in
the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off in Sparks, Nevada; the Great American
Rib Cook-Off in Cleveland, Ohio; the Southern Florida Championship
Cook Off in Jupiter, Florida and many, many more. For more
information, please visit www.famousdaves.com.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly
historical, including but not limited to statements regarding the
timing of our restaurant openings and the timing or success of our
expansion plans, are forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which
may cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from
expected results. Although Famous Dave's of America, Inc. believes
the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are
based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its
expectation will be attained. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from Famous Dave's expectation include
financial performance, restaurant industry conditions, execution of
restaurant development and construction programs, franchisee
performance, changes in local or national economic conditions,
availability of financing, governmental approvals and other risks
detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports.
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