Leading restaurant and hospitality company Earl Enterprises has appointed Valentina Ellison as its chief development officer, non traditional. In this role, Ellison will leverage her extensive experience to drive the expansion of Earl Enterprises’ restaurant brands into non-traditional venues, such as shopping malls, airports and sports arenas and stadiums.
A longtime industry executive, Ellison brings a wealth of knowledge in operating in fast-paced, high-volume, high-traffic venues, as well as expertise in consumer trends, demographic analysis, and industry technology. Ellison previously was senior vice president of business development at REEF and vice president of business development at Areas USA.
“I am delighted that Valentina has accepted this important position inside Earl Enterprises,” said Robert Earl, founder of Earl Enterprises. “We have worked together on projects in the past and I have been impressed with her drive and vision. Now that she is inside the company, I look forward to supporting her plans for rapid expansion into these non-traditional settings where we clearly can adapt our core brands to work in a wide range of venues.”
The company said Ellison has already begun collaborating with the company’s operations teams to adapt some of its classic brands, such as Buca di Beppo and Brio Italian Kitchen, to work in smaller footprints with new concepts like Brio Vino and Buca Express. These brand extensions will cater to non-traditional settings, bringing the best of the company’s brands into new, more compact footprints. Ellison also plans to introduce innovative approaches to the food and beverage industry.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Earl Enterprises,” said Ellison, “I am eager to contribute to the growth of this remarkable organization and spearhead the development of innovative concepts for our legacy brands that will resonate with the future generation of consumers.”
