CEO Today USA Awards

CEO Today USA Awards 2019 www.ceotodaymagazine.com - N E W J E R S E Y - 74 BRAD HONIGFELD Co-CEO and Founder of The Briad Group ABOUT BRAD HONIGFELD Brad Honigfeld is the founder, chairman and co-chief executive officer of The Briad Group ® , a multi-unit, multi-state, owner, developer and operator of fast-food restaurants, casual dining restaurants, limited service hotels and a lifestyle shopping center. Brad as visionary, entrepreneur and leader of The Briad Group; has successfully guided the company from its humble beginnings to its current success and profitability. His management abilities, innate entrepreneurial skills and financial, marketing and business acumen, have allowed Briad to grow from one ice cream restaurant into a division of over 120 TGI Friday’s, Wendy’s restaurants, and hotels employing more than 8,000 people with gross sales in excess of $350 million. Initially operating only in the Northeast, in June 2006 The Briad Group completed a tender offer for Main Street Restaurant Group, Inc., which expanded operations into the west coast. Briad owns and operates 12% of the domestic TGI Friday’s and approximately 25% of the TGI Friday’s franchise system. While building his restaurant business, Brad also focused on building a hotel business. He and his team located, negotiated, developed, constructed, opened, operated, managed and financed twenty-six (26) limited service Marriott and Hilton brand hotels representing over 2800 hotel rooms with a value in excess of $375 million in three separate Transactions over the years. Brad has sold all of the hotels and continues to develop new ones. Brad ventured into yet another area with development of the Promenade Shops at Clifton, a 130,000 square foot lifestyle center anchored by a Stew Leonard’s Wine Shop, LA Fitness, Joe’s Crab Shack, PNC bank and TGI Friday’s, and providing an opportunity to open and test new restaurant ventures such as Zinburger. Brad has utilized his keen insight, negotiating skills, persistence and vision to develop strategic alliances with financial institutions, contractors, vendors, marketers and other developers. These alliances have helped Briad maximize its profit, reduce expenses and increase net worth. In the coming years, Brad will continue to lead Briad toward new growth opportunities, expansion into new markets and increased profitability. Brad is an active and respected member of the franchise community serving on a myriad of committees and sitting on numerous industry panels and often asked for his advice and counsel. The Briad Group has been recognized with honors over the years for its quality, growth, and attention to detail, commitment to excellence in service, and outstanding operations. TGI Friday’s named Briad as the “Outstanding Developer” of the year in 1995, and for years 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, TGI Friday’s awarded Briad the “Franchise Developer of the Year”. The Briad Group also received an “Outstanding Achievement Award” in 2003 from Homewood Suites/Hilton and was awarded the Top New Hotel Performance 2007 for the Bethlehem Homewood Suites. The Briad Group has been consistently ranked among top owners and developers, in 2010 Hotel Business Top Owners and Developers #83. 2011 Multi-Unit Franchisee-99 Largest Multi-Unit Franchisees Mega Stars #60, Restaurant Finance Monitor 2011 and 2012- Ranked 9 out of 200. Most recently, Wendy’s ® recognized The Briad Group® with their Legacy Award - Employer of the Year for their extensive programs to benefit the employees. THE BRIAD GROUP The Briad Group has come a long way since October 1987, when Brad Honigfeld opened his first franchise—a Steve’s Ice Cream/ Carnegie Deli in Princeton, N.J. Today, the ice cream parlor long gone, Briad now owns and operates restaurants, major hotel chains, and even an outdoor lifestyle shopping center. We are best known for our three major divisions: quick-service, which operates Wendy’s ® Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurants; casual-dining, as a licensed TGI Friday’s franchisee; and lodging, which develops and operates hotels under the Marriott® and Hilton ® brands. In 2010, we decided to expand our restaurant operations, to include the polished casual dine concept called Zinburger Wine and Burger Bar and in 2016 we took full ownership and have opened 12 locations so far with another 6 in the pipeline. Additionally, we opened the Promenade Shops at Clifton in 2009, a lifestyle shopping center. The Briad Group is quickly becoming one of America’s fastest growing restaurant and hospitality companies. www.briad.com