GJ Hart

Bio:

G.J. Hart most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers from September 2022 and as a member of its Board of Directors from August 2019, until May 2025. A highly regarded executive with nearly 40 years in the restaurant industry, including both public and private company experience, G.J. is well known for his organizational leadership skills, commitment to profitable growth, and ability to drive long term shareholder value.

G.J. most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Torchy’s Tacos, a privately held fast-casual concept with more than 100 locations, from 2018 to 2021. He was previously the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of California Pizza Kitchen from 2011 to 2018, where he was responsible for its “Next Chapter” of growth with a program that infused a fresh, contemporary look, innovative menu and world-class service model, and generated higher per store average sales and profitability. From 2000 to 2011, G.J. served as President of Texas Roadhouse Holdings, LLC and as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board from 2004 to 2011, where he oversaw unprecedented growth and expanded the business from 60 locations to over 450 restaurants in 49 states and two international markets, while increasing revenues from $63 million to over $1 billion. Earlier in his career, G.J. held leadership positions at Al Copeland Investments, TriFoods International, New Zealand Lamb Company, and Shenandoah Valley Poultry, among others.

In 2012, G.J. was the initial inductee in the James Madison University Hospitality School Hall of Fame. In 2015, he and his wife Heather Hart jointly announced a $3 million gift commitment to JMU resulting in the newly renamed Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management. The intention of this gift is to help young people to be successful in work that emphasizes the importance of serving the public through a career in hospitality.

He is on the National Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association, Red Robin (NASDAQ: RRGB), Portillo’s (NASDAQ: PTLO) and Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS), and serves advisory board memberships with the James Madison University Business School and University of Louisville’s College of Business and Public Administration. He has been an active member of Habitat for Humanity, Volunteers of America, the Special Olympics, Make-A-Wish America, Blessings in a Backpack, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and was the Founder of the Louisville Metro Police Foundation.

G.J. is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and was named a Top CEO for investor relations by IR Magazine. G.J. has been recognized for his entrepreneurial vision and leadership while leading California Pizza Kitchen’s Next Chapter as a finalist of EY’s prestigious 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Los Angeles and as the recipient of one of the industry’s highest honors, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s 2017 Silver Plate Award in the Chain Full Service category. In 2024, Black Box Intelligence honored G.J. with their Workplace Legacy Award, which recognizes exceptional leadership by balancing people practices and best-in-class operational results. In 2025, Newsweek named four restaurants – Red Robin, Portillo’s, Dutch Bros Inc. and Texas Roadhouse – with which G.J. is involved in a current, prior or Board leadership capacity to its list of the Most Trustworthy Companies in America, based on an independent survey of 25,000 U.S. respondents. In addition, Time Magazine named Red Robin one of America’s Best Mid-Size Companies for 2025, under G.J.’s leadership.

G.J. was born Gerard Johan Hart in the Netherlands. He and his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was five years old. As a student at James Madison University, Hart worked full-time at the Shenandoah Valley Poultry Company in Bridgewater, VA, to put himself through college and help pay the bills at home. G.J. calls the experience “far from glamorous,” but, he said, it was during those years toiling in the poultry plant that he learned many of the leadership lessons he has followed throughout his successful career in the hospitality industry.