OUR Franchise Team
The Brains Behind Our Successful Franchises
The mantra of the Huddle House franchise team is “What can I do today to serve the needs of our Franchise Partners?” Our service-minded franchise leadership team is headed up by a tight-knit group of highly-experienced food service veterans. Michael Abt came to Huddle House as CEO in 2012 with a lot of experience under his belt as both a franchisee and franchisor, and he has set the tone ever since. His franchisee-first philosophy has made an impression and elevated the Huddle House franchise opportunity.
Abt, who was named one of Nation’s Restaurant News’ most influential leaders in foodservice in 2016, believes the franchisor-franchisee relationship is key to building and growing a successful company.
“Our success is dependent upon every individual franchise partner, so how we serve them and support them is vital,” Abt says. “You can’t identify your key opportunities as a brand unless you understand what your franchise partners need to succeed.”
MICHAEL ABT
Chief Executive Officer
Michael is an industry veteran with extensive experience growing brands. He was a senior vice president with Arby’s, responsible for more than 1000 restaurants, before joining Huddle House as CEO in 2012. In October 2019, Michael led the acquisition of the Perkins Restaurant & Bakery brand and formed Ascent Hospitality Management, a company founded with a vision to invigorate great brands and provide a catalyst for long-term growth. As a long-time restaurant operator, he understands what’s required to operate a successful restaurant and works closely with franchise partners to continually evolve the brand and maintain a competitive position. He and his team are focused on executing the brands mission: “To bring friends and families together, over delicious food, served from the heart." His organization is centered on providing outstanding franchise partner support in order to consistently deliver a memorable experience for Huddle House guests and boost profitability
TROY TRACY
Chief Operations Officer
Troy joined Huddle House in 2013 with over 15 years of multi-unit leadership in corporate operations in brands including Captain D’s and Pizza Hut, franchise support and as a franchise partner for both McAlister’s Deli and Arby’s Restaurant Group. Tracy oversees systemwide corporate and franchise field operations.
ALISON GLENN DELANEY
Chief Brand Officer
Alison has over 30 years of experience in building restaurant brands with companies including T.G.I. Friday’s, Marie Callender’s, Ruby Tuesday and Ponderosa. She is responsible for reinforcing, both through our menu and our messaging, that Huddle House is the hometown diner for people who want to relax and catch up over breakfast, lunch, dinner or later, no matter what the occasion.
Peter Ortiz
Restaurant Industry Executive
Peter Ortiz is an accomplished restaurant industry executive with a strong track record of building successful franchise growth programs for notable brands such as QDOBA, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Focus Brands. Throughout his eight years serving as the Vice President of Franchise Development and Recruitment at Focus Brands, Ortiz’s sales teams consistently sold over 200 franchise units per year. As a highly skilled business strategist, he will forge lasting relationships with franchise partners and implement an effective strategy, ensuring long-term growth for Huddle House / Perkins.
MELISSA ROTHRING
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Melissa joined the Huddle House team in 2013 and serves as General Counsel and Executive Vice President to Huddle House, Inc. She has over 20 years of experience in franchising business analysis and management, focusing on financial and legal management initiatives with a concentration on effective branding and operational strategies. Rothring previously held executive leadership positions for GFG Management LLC, whose holdings include Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery and Maggie Moo’s; and Kahala Corp., whose holdings include Blimpie, Pinkberry and Cold Stone Creamery.
NATHAN BALLARD
Chief Supply Chain Officer
Nathan oversees all food, supply and smallware distribution from the HHI Customer Support Center. He is a 20-year veteran of the distribution industry who joined Huddle House in 2004. Previously, Ballard served in Transportation Management roles at industry leaders A&P Supermarkets and GAF Materials Corp.
ROBERT HESS
CIO, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Robert is the Chief Information Officer for both Huddle House and Perkins Restaurants brands. Most recently, Robert served as the Executive Consultant to Huddle House & Perkins and prior to that served as Chief Information Officer for the Perkins brand since 2015. Robert brings a 35-year track record of success with deep understanding of the role of information technology within the hospitality industry. Prior to Perkins, Robert worked for O’Charley’s Inc, for 8 years and prior to that, Brinker International for 15 years.
MARILYN LEISTER
Vice President, Human Resources
Marilyn joined Huddle House in 2018 to lead the development and implementation of employee-driven strategies and programs that support strategic and tactical business objectives. With more than 15 years of human resources experience, including five years as departmental head, Marilyn has a track record of successfully driving organizational change.
Prior to joining Huddle House, Marilyn served as Director of Human Resources at Cowabunga, Inc., a large Domino’s Pizza franchisee with 100+ restaurants and more than 2,500 employees. There, Marilyn led a team of nine people and was accountable for the organization’s development and execution of HR Strategy. She transformed and elevated the HR function across all employee communications, policy development, training, onboarding, and benefits for the Support Center and its restaurants.
On a personal note, Marilyn enjoys travel, scuba diving and hiking.
Huddle House is Growing -
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Disclaimer: © 2022 Huddle House, Inc. This does not constitute an offer to sell a franchise. The offer of a franchise can only be made through the delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Certain states require that we register the FDD in those states. This communication is not directed by us to residents of any of those states. Moreover, we will not offer or sell franchises in those states until we have registered the franchise (or obtained an applicable exemption from registration) and delivered the FDD to the prospective franchisee in compliance with applicable law.
