From Storefronts to Stadiums: Strategic Expansion for the Fast Casual Restaurant


Fast casual brands of all sizes are trading in traditional locations for airports, gas stations, college campuses and arenas. This session features executives sharing how they identified the best areas and venues for their businesses while expanding brand awareness, boosting convenience and cutting costs.

Panelists
Jason Ganahl
Founder
GQue BBQ
Jason Ganahl, founder GQue BBQ, is a celebrated figure in the world of Barbecue. There isn’t anything he hasn’t done in BBQ. As a competitor, He is a KCBS certified BBQ judge, has won a combination of 19 Grand and Reserve Grand Championships in professional BBQ contests. Perfect scores in each category, Including a Team of the year award and induction into the RMBBQA Hall of Fame. Following the success as a competitor Jason opened his first Restaurant in Westminster Colorado in 2018. Since opening, GQue Has received Countless Best of Awards and has been featured on Food Network and Cooking Channel. GQue BBQ now has 7 locations in the front range including Empower Field, Home of the Denver Broncos and Coors Field Home of the Colorado Rockies.
Eric Knott
CEO
Tiki Taco
Eric Knott is a restaurant executive with a proven track record built upon operational excellence, driving revenues with favorable returns, and a passion for developing best in class teams. Currently leading the fast casual brand Tiki Taco as Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Knott led the Premium QSR brand People Dedicated to Quality (PDQ) as the Chief Operating Officer, Eric has committed over a decade to driving strategic growth across the business. Understanding the importance of a holistic vision, Eric is directly responsible for producing results through a vast array of incentives. Innovation across Operations, Technology, Real Estate, and Marketing campaigns are a few examples of how Eric has created superior value to both the organizations.
Jack Mashini
Co-Founder & Franchisor
Wing Snob
Jack Mashini is the proprietor and operator of Wing Snob, a restaurant chain based in Warren. The rapid expansion of Wing Snob can be attributed to the strategic approach taken by Mashini and Brian Shunia. In the early days, both Mashini and Shunia dedicated themselves to the first restaurant, working tirelessly seven days a week until they were confident enough to take a step back. This hands-on approach was replicated with each new location, leading to years of relentless work as they built their teams and established the systems necessary to ensure the smooth operation of their growing enterprise. Today, Mashini’s focus has shifted towards refining these systems and expanding their customer base. Wing Snob launched their redesigned mobile app and the overhaul of their loyalty rewards program, Snob Perks. For Mashini, Wing Snob is more than just a business. He affectionately refers to it as his “third child”.
Moderator
Stacey Kane
Chief Marketing Officer
Broadtalk Marketing
Stacey Kane has more than 25 years of experience working with multi-unit restaurant chains as a Head of Marketing and Marketing Consultant. She has worked with such brands as California Tortilla, Think Food Group, Subway and East Coast Wings. Known for her incredible creativity and obsession with data she was one of the pioneers of using social media in the restaurant space and has been named a Top 20 Movers and Shakers by Fast Casual Magazine five times. Her passion is leading emerging brands as they scale for growth. Currently, Stacey is a fractional CMO for several fast casual brands including Fresh Baguette, Garden Catering, HCK Hot Chicken, Mahana Fresh and Mamoun's Falafel. Kane is passionate about the industry. She has been a National Pro-Start Judge for 3 years and after serving as a consultant, she was asked to sit on the board of CORE:Children of Restaurant Employees in 2022. CORE’s mission is to provide short-term financial relief to food and beverage service employees with children when navigating a qualifying circumstance.