NRN lauds Golden Chain, Pioneer and Innovator award winners

Nation's Restaurant News,  July 30, 2007  

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Los ANGELES -- Votes now are being tallied to decide who among the six 2007 Golden Chain winners will receive the prestigious Operator of the Year award during the 48th annual Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference to be held here this fall.

The foodservice leaders honored for their recent achievements and career accomplishments include Paul Clayton, chief executive of Jamba Juice; Gerard T. Gabrys, president and chief executive of Guest Services Inc.; Linda A. Lang, chairman and chief executive of Jack in the Box Inc.; Zach McLeroy, chief executive and chairman of Zaxby's Chicken Restaurants; Craig S. Miller, chair man, president and chief executive of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse Inc.; and Nick Vojnovic, president of Beef 'O' Brady's.

Also, James H. Maynard, chairman and co-founder of Golden Corral, will receive the Pioneer Award. Gerald Fernandez, president and founder of the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, will receive the 2007 Innovator Award.

All of the winners will be recognized at the gala Awards Banquet to be held Oct. 2 during MUFSO, which runs from Sept. 30-Oct. 3. During the banquet, which is sponsored by American Express, the Operator of the Year also will be announced.

"In addition to an always strong educational program with outstanding speakers, MUFSO is an event which showcases excellence in leadership, a quality we have in abundance with this year's lineup of award winners," said Alan Gould, publisher of Nation's Restaurant News, which produces MUFSO.

Curtis Wilson, vice president and general manager of the Restaurant Industries Group for American Express, said: "These honorees are outstanding executives who have taken their foodservice organizations to new heights, and we at American Express are proud to join with Nation's Restaurant News in congratulating the class of 2007. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of these award winners at the MUFSO conference this fall."

Among the Golden Chain win hers is Paul Clayton, chief executive of Jamba Juice since 2000. Kirk Perron, the chain's founder, wanted a seasoned fast-food executive to help grow the company and drove Clayton's recruitment to Jamba. With 16 years experience at Burger King and time spent at McDonald's, Clayton was an ideal fit. In the past seven years, the San Francisco-based chain has become a publicly traded company and has grown from more than 300 units to 631 today.

At Guest Services of Fairfax, Va., Gerry Gabrys leads a multifaceted company that manages businesses from campgrounds to white-tablecloth establishments. Since Gabrys became president in 1996, Guest Services has grown from $133 million in annual revenues to more than $300 million, with 250 units serving 25 million guests. Clients include the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Department of State, the National Park Service and museums across the country.

Linda Lang took the reins at San Diego-based Jack in the Box in 2005, and the company has been soaring ever since. Net earnings that year totaled $91.5 million on revenues of $2.5 billion. A year later, net earnings topped $108 million on revenues of nearly $2.8 billion. Through the first half of fiscal 2007, Jack in the Box is on pace for another record year with net earnings up more than 37 percent. The company operates 2,089 namesake restaurants in 17 states and also operates and franchises the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain, which has 353 restaurants in 39 states.

Zach McElroy has been the driving force behind the growth of Zaxby's, a chicken fingers and Buffalo wings concept based in Athens, Ga. McElroy and cofounder Tony Townley launched the first Zaxby's in 1990 and have expanded the concept to more than 380 restaurants in 10 states throughout the Southeast. McElroy envisioned Zaxby's as a concept offering fresh food and a vibrant atmosphere in which employees would enjoy working.

When Craig Miller joined Ruth's Chris Steak House in 2004, he brought with him more than 40 years of full-service restaurant experience. With 106 locations worldwide, Ruth's Chris, based in Heathrow, Fla., is one of the largest fine-dining companies in the United States, and Miller is dedicated to carrying on the legacy of the chain's late founder, Ruth Fertel. Since 2004, new restaurants have featured a "luxury lounge" concept, which has enhanced decor and helped increase revenues.

In 2005, Nick Vojnovic was named president of Family Sports Concepts, the franchisor of Beef 'O' Brady's, a Tampa, Fla.-based chain of "family sports pubs" that has grown to 225 stores nationwide. The chain's goal is to have 500 restaurants by 2012, and Chuck Winship, the founder of Family Sports Concepts, says Vojnovic is the person to take them there.

"He's a real people guy with lots of energy," Winship said. "He has been instrumental in attracting and training new franchisees."

Maynard of Golden Corral Corp. will be honored with this year's Pioneer Award, which recognizes a veteran restaurateur for his or her lifelong innovation, creativity and success in the industry.