California-based Baja Fresh Mexican Grill announced today design and construction industry veteran Michael Napolitano has joined the organization as director of construction and design. In this role, Mr. Napolitano will be responsible for taking the new Baja Fresh and La Salsa locations through the overall design, development and entitlement process.

“Location, site development and overall restaurant design are critical factors to the success of Baja Fresh,” said James Walker, president, Baja Fresh. “The addition of Michael to our team brings a level of industry experience that will allow Baja Fresh to meet strategic initiatives for continued growth by ensuring we select the proper locations for new restaurants and meet the design needs of Baja Fresh and La Salsa customers in different regions across the country.”

Mr. Napolitano brings more than thirty-five years of building design experience to Baja Fresh. He has vast experience in real estate development from site selection to grand opening and has coordinated the development of many raw land retail developments, shopping centers, and industrial parks. Prior to joining Baja Fresh, Mr. Napolitano worked for GreenbergFarrow, Architects in Irvine, CA coordinating the development of big box retail projects and retail shopping centers.

“I learned about the restaurant business the old fashioned way – I owned one,” said Michael Napolitano. “Baja Fresh is a stellar organization delivering fresh, quality food to consumers and I look forward to a new adventure of rolling out, in very short order, scores of new Baja Fresh and La Salsa restaurants across the country.”

Mr. Napolitano earned a bachelors degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute, a Masters in Urban Planning from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a Masters in Public Administration from California State University, Los Angeles. He resides in Riverside, CA with his wife and has two sons.