ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Lehigh Valley organization that owns several restaurants is changing its name to reflect its "growth and evolution," it said.
Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, which franchises Red Robin and Wingstop restaurants, will transition to the organizational name Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands.
The company announced the move in a news release Wednesday afternoon, as well as a logo and website revamp.
Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands Chief Executive Officer Mike Axiotis told LehighValleyNews.com that since the company partnered with Wingstop, there's been some confusion about what Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group encompasses.
"It's really more bringing the two brands under one united name, and positioning ourselves for future growth and adding more brands in the future."Mike Axiotis, President and CEO of LVRB
It's no longer just franchised Red Robin restaurants. In 1993, the company opened its first franchised Red Robin restaurant and has since expanded to 20 franchised Red Robin locations and now 10 franchised Wingstop restaurants.
"It's really more bringing the two brands under one united name, and positioning ourselves for future growth and adding more brands in the future," Axiotis told LehighValleyNews.com in a phone interview Thursday.
'Proud of creating opportunities'
There are no "eminent brands as of today," he said, but he said the move, paying homage to its Lehigh Valley roots, identifies its connection to the community and opens the company to possible growth.
It's something Axiotis said he wanted to do since he took his position in 2018. He initially started at Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group as a manager for 26 years — more than half of the company's existence since it was founded in 1991 by Stephen J. Hanzlik.
"You want to have multiple eggs and different baskets so that you can continue to grow and diversify and then also create jobs."Mike Axiotis, President and CEO of LVRB
"It's been a great ride, and that's one of the other things that we're very proud of is creating opportunities," he said.
Being positioned to enter future partnerships, Axiotis said, would also increase job opportunities locally, promote a workplace culture with upward mobility and let LVRB grow with the industry.
Axiotis said the decision to partner with Wingstop was because its services, such as its digital app, "are complimentary and non-competitive," to Red Robin and gears the company and similar organizations to "create a diversified platform as we head into the future."
"You want to have multiple eggs and different baskets so that you can continue to grow and diversify and then also create jobs," Axiotis said.
