Bryon Stephens Now Chief Development Officer for Savvy Sliders

Bryon Stephens has been made the chief development officer of Troy-based Savvy Sliders.
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Byron Stephens
Bryon Stephens

Bryon Stephens has been made the chief development officer of Troy-based Savvy Sliders.

He brings 35 years of food industry knowledge to the Savvy Sliders brand. There are currently 35 franchises open today, and another 30 in development. Stephens’ task will guide the three-year old brand’s growth by opening a planned 500 stores over the next 48 months.

“We’ve created a concept that reimagines what a slider means to consumers by providing them with ‘More 2 Love’ in our products and services, and by giving back in the communities we do business in through our ‘More 2 Love’ foundation,” says Happy Asker, the founder and CEO of Savvy Sliders. “With Bryon’s leadership and knowledge, this unique partnership will lead us to explosive growth throughout the world.”

Stephens’ industry experience includes work for A&W Restaurants, where he spearheaded the evolution of co-branding A&W and Long John Silvers. He was also involved in the subsequent purchase of Yorkshire Global Restaurants, which formed YUM! Brands, the world’s largest restaurant company with more than 32,000 restaurants worldwide.

Stephens has opened more than 2,000 franchise outlets while at Yorkshire and YUM! and is credited with developing more than 3,000 different franchise outlets over several brands throughout his career.

“What Happy and the team have created here at Savvy Sliders is unique and well positioned to attract consumers looking for a better QSR experience,” says Stephens. “The branding, the service, the technology, and the incredible food all culminate in creating fans of Savvy Sliders.  This will drive the results of our units, and our Franchisees will benefit from all-of-this working together.  I look forward to bringing this opportunity to the Franchise market.”

The Stephens announcement follows Savvy Slider’s recent recognition as one of “The Top 150 New and Emerging Franchise Brands of 2023” by Entrepreneur Magazine and one of the “Fastest Growing Five Operators” by management consulting firm Technomic.