On the heels of introducing domestic and international franchise opportunities, Bruxie has brought on two industry leaders to expand the brand’s footprint. Bruxie has appointed John Ramsay as vice president of Development for Bruxie Franchising and Danielle Contreras as director of Operations for Bruxie. Ramsay and Contreras will lead the charge in overseeing expansion for one of the most successful, innovative concepts to be tapped in the U.S. and in markets around the world.
“Bruxie found itself on the forefront of the Fried Chicken frenzy by appealing to adventurous eaters and gaining buzz as the creator of The Original Fried Chicken & Waffle Sandwich,” says Bruxie CEO Anthony Smith. “Now, as fried chicken concepts grow in popularity, John Ramsay and Danielle Contreras have joined our team to help Bruxie separate itself from others as a chef-driven concept and gain the momentum to take advantage of unique franchise opportunities to grow both domestically and internationally.”
Ramsay’s industry experience includes developing more than 900 restaurants, throughout the U.S. and in 10 countries. He has led franchise sales and development with large, mature organizations and emerging growth concepts, alike, including Marco’s Franchising, T.G.I. Friday’s, Jack in the Box, and Rubio’s Restaurants. His background includes real estate, design and construction.
Contreras’s position as director of Operations for Bruxie, which includes company owned restaurants and franchise locations, will benefit from her rich industry experience, which includes nearly two decades of multi-unit leadership, most recently with Yogurtland Franchising as director of Operations. There, she pioneered operations systems within a developing franchise business. Prior to her time at Yogurtland, Contreras spent 18 years with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, working to position of senior director of the South Region, overseeing all company-owned stores in California and Arizona. In that capacity, Contreras directly oversaw 100 stores and 8 district managers. She was responsible for setting strategic vision and deploying tactics for sales and profit building, operational excellence, and succession planning for more than 200 company-owned stores.
Together, Ramsay and Contreras will oversee domestic and international expansion out of Bruxie headquarters based in Orange County, California, where its original location still ranks as among the most successful restaurants in the region. The two new Bruxie executives will work alongside Bruxie’s management team led by chief executive officer Anthony Smith, chief financial officer Scott M. Miller, and Bruxie founder & chef Kelly G. Mullarney.