Krystal recently announced that seasoned restaurant and hospitality leader Jermaine Walker is their new Vice President of Operations. The legacy brand has been undergoing aggressive growth plans, having opened their first international location last year and continues on this trajectory with a new restaurant that opened in Alabama this past January and more on the way.
“I am honored to join Krystal and be part of their expansion efforts,” says Jermaine Walker, Vice President of Operations for Krystal Restaurants LLC. “I’ve spent my career supporting companies in their growth and putting the right teams in place to help achieve various brands’ goals. This is a very exciting time for Krystal and I am delighted to be part of its evolution!”
In his new role with Krystal, Jermaine Walker will be focused on building solid crews through recruitment, in addition to designing new processes to further improve quality, increase productivity, and profitability. He will also work with key department heads to improve efficiencies in operations.
Jermaine Walker has an in-depth understanding of the food and beverage space through his impressive career. His most recent endeavor was Vice President Operations for Slutty Vegan, an Atlanta-based burger brand. He joined Slutty Vegan to help set the brand on a course toward global recognition.
Walker spent nearly 10 years with GPS Hospitality, a franchisee of Burger King, Popeyes and Pizza Hut with close to 500 restaurants across 13 states. He worked alongside founder Tom Garrett in 2012 to set the course for GPS to become a billion-dollar company, while striving to cultivate the company’s vision of being the ‘favorite fast-food destination’ for their guests. GPS is a top-performing company in the QSR space when it comes to growth of people, sales, and profits.
He also served as Director of Operations for TGI Fridays, the full-service restaurant brand that serves up authentic American food and legendary drinks. During his tenure with TGI Fridays, he oversaw the $5 million Camp Creek Pkwy restaurant, while also assisting with the hiring of 500 new team members for multi-unit openings within a seven-month period.
For more than 14 years, Jermaine Walker served as Area Director for Arby’s, the second largest sandwich restaurant brand in the world. One of his career highlights includes opening the first and only Arby’s/Wendy’s dual concept in the world.
Walker launched his career as a General Manager PepsiCo in Louisville, KY, where he dedicated more than eight years.
