On the heels of announcing the hiring of the brand’s first CEO, Joe Lewis, Smalls Sliders, the hyper-focused cheeseburger slider drive-thru concept backed by Walk-On’s founder Brandon Landry and former NFL Quarterback Drew Brees, adds to the executive team with veteran franchise marketer, Katherine LeBlanc and celebrates their second location set to open this Fall with a groundbreaking ceremony.
LeBlanc joins Lewis and co-founder and COO, Jacob Dugas as the brand builds a strong franchise management team to support the budding franchise program across the Gulf South. “Marketing and Technology are the backbone of every brand, and with Katherine’s experience leading both, we are poised to offer our new franchisees a world-class support program,” says Jacob Dugas, co-founder of Smalls Sliders.
LeBlanc most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer of Twist Brands, where she and Lewis led the 380 unit growing Arts & Crafts as entertainment industry power houses, Painting with a Twist and Color Me Mine as well as global ceramics provider Chesapeake Ceramics. As CMO, LeBlanc grew the brand’s average check through innovation and launched a pivotal at-home offering at the height of the pandemic.
Prior to joining Lewis at Twist Brands, LeBlanc was an impactful marketing leader at several iconic New Orleans brands including Smoothie King, as Director of Brand marketing for over 800 units, where she led the brand through a rebrand, the successful launch of the Smoothie King Center sponsorship and a revitalization of their product development efforts launching several successful new products. LeBlanc also led marketing for Dickie Brennan & Co, and Louisiana SPCA in previous roles.
“I’m looking forward to using marketing and technology to elevate Smalls Sliders’ mission of using SMALL burgers to make a BIG difference,” says LeBlanc. “The team’s innate focus on building a culture that celebrates uniqueness, inclusivity and our people – whether our Squad members, franchise owners or community members is powerful and it’s exciting to be part of the execution of that culture.”
Smalls Sliders’ first location opened September 2019. The second location will also be in Baton Rouge, LA at 7610 Bluebonnet Blvd and is set to open this Fall. The team celebrated the groundbreaking of the second location with the brand’s signature orange displayed in ceremonial sand. With two locations and a strong executive team, the brand is poised for big growth.
Smalls Sliders’ growth was celebrated at the groundbreaking by the brand’s ownership group including Jacob Dugas, Brandon Landry, Scott Fargason, Joe Lewis and Drew Brees (not in attendance) as well as key partners Duckworth Realty and Momentum Commercial Real Estate.
Smalls Sliders began their franchising program in July and has had significant interest in their initial 12 target markets covering the Gulf South of Alexandria, Beaumont, Hattiesburg, Houma/Thibodeaux, Houston, Jackson, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Mobile, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport.
