Fast-casual restaurant brand Café Rio has named restaurant industry operations veteran Mike Burns as its new CEO.
Burns comes to Café Rio from Latitude Food Group of Maitland, Florida, parent company of &pizza and Tijuana Flats, where he was also CEO. He previously worked as chief operating officer at Rave Restaurant Group and spent time earlier in his career with Pei Wei Asian Kitchen and Bojangles.
Café Rio Fresh Modern Mexican was founded by Steve and Patricia Stanley with a single store St. George in 1997. It now has more than 160 locations, mostly concentrated in Utah, Arizona and California, with additional stores in Idaho, Colorado, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Maryland and Virginia. The company is now primarily owned by private investment firm Freeman Spogli & Co. and is headquartered in Salt Lake City.
“Mike brings exactly the kind of leadership Café Rio needs for this next chapter,” said Christian Johnson, a partner at Freeman Spogli. “He has built a reputation as one of the most effective leaders in fast-casual and has an uncanny ability to align teams around a clear vision and translate that vision into operational excellence and meaningful results. We’re excited to welcome Mike as Café Rio’s new chief executive officer and are confident and excited on the opportunities ahead with him at the helm.”
“I’ve been watching Café Rio for a long time — and eating my way through plenty of sweet pork in the process — so to say I’m thrilled to join as its next CEO is very much an understatement. Café Rio didn’t build this kind of following by blending in. For nearly 30 years, this brand has led with freshness, quality and authentic Mexican food people flat-out crave. We’re done being quiet. We’re going to bring the energy back, make some noise and put Café Rio firmly back where it belongs — leading the conversation instead of just being part of it.”
Mike Burns, Café Rio’s new CEO“I’ve been watching Café Rio for a long time — and eating my way through plenty of sweet pork in the process — so to say I’m thrilled to join as its next CEO is very much an understatement,” said Burns. “Café Rio didn’t build this kind of following by blending in. For nearly 30 years, this brand has led with freshness, quality and authentic Mexican food people flat-out crave. We’re done being quiet. We’re going to bring the energy back, make some noise and put Café Rio firmly back where it belongs — leading the conversation instead of just being part of it.”
Café Rio takes its menu inspiration from Mexico’s Northern Rio Grande region, as well as from southern Texas and New Mexico. Its credo promises fresh ingredients and customizable meals.
Freeman Spogli is a private equity firm with over $6 billion of private equity capital in 72 companies and add-on acquisitions with an aggregate transaction value of $32 billion. It has offices in Los Angeles and New York.
