Dive Brief:
- Twin Hospitality Group CEO Joe Hummel and Chief Legal Officer Clay Mingus are resigning from their posts to pursue other opportunities effective April 10, the company said in a Monday press release.
- CFO Ken Kuick has been appointed interim CEO while Allen Sussman, Fat Brands general counsel, has become interim chief legal officer.
- The leadership changes come over two months after Twin Peaks was spun off from Fat Brands into a separate public company that owns both the restaurant chain and Smokey Bones.
Dive Insight:
Despite the leadership change, Kuick said Twin Peaks will continue on its current growth path, which includes a development pipeline of over 100 units. The chain has already opened two restaurants this year and is targeting seven to nine additional units in 2025.
Last year, the brand opened nine restaurants and signed four area development agreements for 24 lodges, according to an earnings release. The 116-unit chain’s long-term goal is to reach 650 restaurants in the U.S. and 250 units internationally.
However, the company faces net losses that grew to $48.2 million last year compared to $13.8 million in 2023. The chain’s systemwide sales did grow 25.3% last year, but same-store sales at Twin Peaks were down 3.1%.
Its conversion of Smokey Bones units into Twin Peaks is helping drive systemwide sales growth. A Lakeland, Florida, location that opened in September is “exceeding expectations,” Kuick said in the earnings release, and another one in Brandon, Florida, that opened in February is “off to a strong start.”
Both Hummel and Mingus have served in their positions for seven years, and joined the chain at about the same time, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
“Starting on the franchisee side of Twin Peaks together and then taking on leadership roles at Twin Peaks and now Twin Hospitality Group, they helped pave the way for the IPO,” Kuick said in a statement.
