Alex Santiago, outgoing chief executive, to continue to serve on Board of Directors
South-Florida-based Vicky Bakery named Mauricio Romero chief executive officer. Outgoing CEO, Alex Santiago, will continue to support the brand’s growth through his seat on the Board of Directors. His family will also take part in molding the future of the Vicky Bakery brand through franchising.
“Mauricio brings a wealth of experience to Vicky Bakery, from his background in managing large restaurant groups to scaling multiple franchised businesses and working alongside franchisees,” said Santiago. “As Vicky Bakery continues on its transformational journey as the fastest growing and most well recognized Cuban bakery chain, Mauricio’s deep understanding of unit level economics and how to meet customer’s needs will help solidify Vicky Bakery as an industry leader while driving profitability across our brand for our amazing network of franchisees.”
Vicky Bakery welcomes Romero, a four-decade restaurant franchise veteran, from LA EEBI. There, he served as a consultant to several limited-service and full-service restaurant brands.
Before working at the LA EEBI consultancy, Romero served as president of operations for Fransmart, a franchise development firm. Fransmart partnered with Five Guys, Qdoba, The Halal Guys, and Vapiano in their early days.
Romero said, “Our franchise brand was born out of a family business and that’s the way it remains. We treat our customers, our franchisees, our team members, and our suppliers like family. That is and will always be the Vicky Bakery way. That sense of family and duty to one another is one of our most defining characteristics. We are poised for some incredible growth ahead.”
Prior to Fransmart and earlier in his career, Romero held the role of divisional vice president of operations for Five Guys. For the better-burger brand, he oversaw 72 franchisee groups with 656 restaurants in the Western US and Canada.
Vicky Bakery offers guests a menu of authentic Cuban breads, pastelitos, croquetas, desserts, breakfast items, sandwiches, cakes, and coffee. The brand was founded in 1972 in Hialeah, Florida.
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