Industry Veteran David Goronkin Joins Bennigan's as President & CEO

By: Bennigan's | 1 Shares 158 Reads

April 23, 2009 // Franchising.com // (Dallas, TX) - David Goronkin, an accomplished restaurant industry leader, has joined Bennigan's Franchising Company as President & CEO, the company announced today. Mr. Goronkin, 46, is charged with revitalizing the popular concept, which has more than 100 restaurants throughout the U.S. and several other countries.

"Bennigan's is a vintage American brand and the upside potential is tremendous," said Mr. Goronkin. "I'm very excited for the opportunity to work with our franchise partners to enhance Bennigan's and build a strong future for our business."

Mr. Goronkin replaces interim CEO Vince Runco, an industry consultant with TR Global who will continue working with the company during a transition period. Among numerous accomplishments in recent months, Mr. Runco was instrumental in opening several new Bennigan's restaurants both domestically and abroad.

Throughout his career Mr. Goronkin has led several organizations through significant change and brand repositioning efforts leading to successful growth. Most recently he served as CEO, President and a director at Redstone American Grill, Inc., owner of several high-volume full-service restaurants.

Mr. Goronkin previously spent more than four years as President & CEO of Famous Dave's of America, the 170-unit, publicly-traded casual barbecue chain. Prior to joining Famous Dave's, he was Chief Operating Officer at Buffets, Inc., operator of the HomeTown Buffet and Old Country Buffet chains. He was an executive with the company for nearly 10 years and also served on its board of directors.

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