Dallas-based late night pizzeria, Zalat Pizza, has appointed restaurant industry veteran, Jason Brooks, as their Chief Operating Officer. Brooks will report to Zalat’s CEO, Khanh Nguyen. 

Brooks joined Zalat in 2019 as VP of Operations, and previously worked for Bloomin’ Brands for over 20 years. He began his career in the restaurant industry as a manager of Outback Steakhouse locations in Wichita, KS and Oklahoma City, OK where he earned top sales growth results in the region and led revenue growth in 5 different locations over 4 years. He was then promoted to managing partner of the Outback Steakhouse in Independence, Missouri leading the location to become the busiest and most profitable in the Midwest Region.

With a continued track record for success, Brooks was appointed Joint Venture Partner for Outback Steakhouse where he led operations for 15 restaurants and managed to increase sales and profits every year during challenging economic times. After 8 years in that role, Brooks relocated to Dallas, TX to take on the role of Regional Vice President of Bloomin’ Brands where he ultimately received the award of Outbacker of the Year in 2018 in recognition of a Lifetime of Achievement. During this time, he oversaw all aspects of operations for 120 restaurants in 12 states and was responsible for 500 salary managers, 10,000 hourly employees and generating $400 million in annual sales.

In search of a new challenge, Brooks left Bloomin’ Brands in 2019 and joined the fast-growing pizza concept Zalat to manage operations for its stores. He attributes his success to his energy and authenticity, which have been the foundation for a track record of consistent, extraordinary results and growth. In his new role at Zalat, Brooks is responsible for managing operations for Zalat’s seven locations, which includes coaching and motivating his team of zealots. 

“We are delighted to have Jason lead our merry band of pizza zealots,” says Khanh Nguyen, Zalat’s CEO. “Jason brings the rare combination of top-level restaurant operational experience with a genuine, caring leadership style that has been enthusiastically embraced by our entire team, from senior executives to our front-line zealots.”