BBQ Holdings Snags Industry Veteran as New Vice President

A household name in the restaurant franchise industry is joining BBQ Holdings as its new vice president of franchise sales and real estate.

The multi-brand restaurant company to concepts like Famous Dave’s, Granite City Food and Brewing and the newly acquired Village Inn and Bakers Square announced the hiring of Manny Packing.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Manny to our BBQ Holdings’ family, and we are confident that he will be the perfect addition to our leadership team,” says BBQ Holdings’ CEO Jeff Crivello in a press release. “The BBQ Holdings portfolio is expanding rapidly, and we are proud to have an experienced industry veteran like Manny to guide our growth. Manny will help us partner with the right candidates as we expand our footprint across the country and take our brand to the next level.”

Most recently, Packing was the director of international real estate and construction for Inspire Brands, the parent company to brands like Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. In that role, Packing was responsible for onboarding new franchisees and led efforts to market, plan and develop new territories and build new restaurants across the company’s network of over 32,000 locations.

He also previously held franchise sales, operations and other development roles with Buffalo Wild Wings, Pinkberry and Yum Brands.

“I’m very excited to join the BBQ Holdings team and appreciate the trust of the company’s leadership,” says Packing in a press release. “The restaurant space is constantly evolving, especially today, and with over two decades of experience in the industry, I look forward to leveraging my expertise to help expand Famous Dave’s footprint across the United States and the globe.”

BBQ Holdings has six brands with 296 locations in three countries. The company also has eight Famous Dave’s company-owned ghost kitchens operating within its Granite City locations and 19 Famous Dave’s franchisee ghost kitchens operating out of the kitchen of another restaurant or shared kitchen space.