Burns, a senior vice president of development at Darden, won her promotion after four years at the 35-year-old company. Darden president/CEO Dick Rivera credits the 40-year-old Burns with growing the Bahama Breeze chain to its current status.
She fills a post left vacant since June 2001 when Gary Heckel resigned. Smokey Bones president Bob Mock also left and was recently replaced by chief financial officer Clarence Otis.
The 32-outlet Bahama Breeze division leads Darden's sector in sales per restaurant, booking $125 million in fiscal 2002. GlobeSt.com previously reported the company plans to add at least five new Bahama Breezes in 2003, along with 25 Smokey Bones restaurants, 20 Olive Gardens and 12 Red Lobsters.
Company officials couldn't be reached to learn the size of the new locations. But Orlando area retail brokers familiar with Darden's growth pattern tell GlobeSt.com the new units will average 20,000 sf. That would equate to an estimated total of 1.24 million sf at 62 new units in 2003.
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