Rick Graves

The RealFood Consulting team is strengthened by Rick Allen Graves' fifteen year career developing and growing high-volume, multi-unit dining facilities. Rick has worked with such recognizable restaurant giants as Chili's Grill & Bar and the Roadhouse Grill. In all of his roles, Rick has been integral in each restaurant's daily operations running smoothly.

His career began as a restaurant manager where he gained experience managing a staff and opening new locations. After only a couple of years, Rick became a managing partner at Brinker International and was responsible for manager development at Chili's Grill & Bar. Under Rick's watchful eye and meticulous in-store training, five managers were promoted to general manager. During his time there, Rick also established and maintained vendor relations.

Due to his success implementing and training staff, Rick soon took on the role as Director of Training at the Roadhouse Grill. Here he reported directly to the Divisional Vice President. In addition to creating a management review system and manager in-training manual, Rick facilitated regular meetings with the kitchen managers, general managers, and district representative meetings and opened the restaurant's thirteenth location.

His rapid climb to Director of Operations for Z Restaurant Group has allowed Rick to continue to have direct involvement with the restaurant staff at multiple units on both the East and West coasts while strengthening his knowledge of the business side of the food industry. He has decreased profit loses and reduced labor and food cost for Z Square stores while increasing sales. He has identified future site locations for the company and helped with the strategic planning for locations in California and Massachusetts. Rick's experience from coast to coast has made him familiar with not just one state's restaurant scene, but with the nation's food industry. In what little free time he has, Rick enjoys activities not for the faint of heart such as racing, skiing, and cycling.