Fiesta Names New VP Of Supply-Chain Management

Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc. has named Joe Brink vice president of supply-chain management, the company said Monday.

Miami-based Fiesta, which operates the Taco Cabana and Pollo Tropical brands, said Brink will oversee food and ingredient purchasing, food safety, quality assurance and distribution. He will report to Tim Taft, who in July was named Fiesta's chief executive.

Brink most recently served as vice president of supply-chain management for Souper Salad and Grandy's, whose parent, SSI Holding Group Corp. of Lewisville, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.

"I have worked with Joe for the past six years and am familiar with his tireless work ethic and the effort he puts into cultivating outstanding relationships with his supplier partners," Taft said in a statement.

In addition to Souper Salad and Grandy's, Brink has held senior positions at Pizza Inn.

Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. of Syracuse, N.Y., which also franchises Burger King, previously announced plans to spin off Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc. as a standalone public company in the first quarter of 2012.

Fiesta Restaurant Group owns and operates 245 restaurants across six states, and has 35 franchised restaurants in the United States, the Bahamas, Ecuador, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Venezuela.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
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