Leadership

Fatburger appoints new president, COO

A Papa John’s and Long John Silver’s veteran takes over the job, with the goal of global expansion.

Fatburger has a new president and chief operating officer.

Toni Bianco will focus on expanding the burger chain’s worldwide presence, its parent company today announced. Bianco previously worked on international expansion for Papa John’s, as well as global operations and IT for Long John Silver’s.

Former Fatburger President and COO Don Berchtold, who held the post for 15 years, will become executive vice president and chief concept officer for the chain’s parent, Fat Brands, with the charge of developing new brands for the company’s portfolio.

“As Fatburger enters the ring with our larger competitors, I'm confident Toni will be an indispensable asset to the corporate and franchisee team,” Fatburger CEO Andy Wiederhorn said in a statement.

Fat Brands recently launched an initial public stock offering, and in September, it acquired budget steakhouse brands Ponderosa and Bonanza. A couple months later, the company agreed to buy Hurricane Grill & Wings and its Hurricane BTW fast-casual spinoff for $12.5 million.

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