How Small Brands Can Compete with Industry Leaders

Chad Coulter dove into the restaurant industry after a short and successful career as a clinical pharmacist. His first concept, LouVino, was a Southern inspired small plates restaurant and wine bar with over 40 wines by the glass. After the fifth LouVino opened, focus shifted towards diving into the idea of opening a biscuit focused concept. In 2019, the first Biscuit Belly was born after months of meticulous menu, branding and concept development. Biscuit Belly now has 4 corporate locations and over 20 franchised units in development in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

As president and CEO, Sean Kennedy has been instrumental in establishing Cowboy Chicken as the premium fast casual restaurant brand that pioneered wood-fired rotisserie chicken. Sean has worked to refine the menu, build operational systems, grow system-wide sales and strengthen store financial performance. He launched Cowboy Chicken’s franchise program that helped to pave the way for today’s national expansion and has built a strong corporate team to support franchise development, real estate, construction, training, marketing and franchise support efforts. During his leadership, the brand has been included in Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers list every year since 2011 and in 2017 won the Emerging Chain of the Year award from Restaurant Business.

Jim Nagy is an experienced restaurateur who “grew up” in the casual dining segment in Western Canada working with Earls Restaurant Group, Canada’s largest and most successful casual dining company. In his 17 years with Earls, Jim had the opportunity to fill many roles ranging from Regional Chef to Director of Operations. Jim participated in product development, kitchen design, production systems, and hospitality training along with leading the opening of over 25+ locations. In 2009, Jim joined the Wildflower family in Scottsdale, AZ. Currently, Jim wears several hats ranging from leading system and product enhancements at our commercial bakery to overseeing restaurant operations with a focus on mentoring District managers and General managers in the art of hospitality and customer experience.

Otto Othman is an Interactive Creative Director, Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of PINCHO. With 15 years of interactive design experience and fluent in 4 languages, Otto has led multi-disciplinary interactive teams on award winning campaigns for clients such as FIAT, Coca Cola, and Chrysler. Otto is currently the Co-founder of the award-winning burger and kebab chain PINCHO. Leveraging its culture, social media and technology, PINCHO has won the hearts of many guests in South Florida. The brand has 10 locations and has been successful at creating a very loyal following in Miami.