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FRED W. WRIGHT JR.NEW POSITION: Vice president, purchasing, Shells Restaurants, Tampa. PREVIOUS POSITION: Director, supply chain, Gate Gourmet, Atlanta
Christopher Ward's 22-year career in purchasing has taken him to Jacksonville, Orlando and Atlanta - and now to Tampa through a hurricane.
Just after starting his new position as vice president of purchasing with Shells Restaurants, Ward found himself making the seven-hour drive from Atlanta to Tampa as Hurricane Frances swept across the state.
"When I got to Gainesville, it was pouring down," he said, and no motels along the route were open. "I lived to tell about it," he said with a laugh.
He dodged the next storm, Hurricane Jeanne, flying to Atlanta to visit his family on Friday before the storm hit, and then back to Tampa on Monday after it had passed.
Three weeks into his new role at Shells, Ward said he already is faced with some hurricane-related challenges of getting commodities trucked into the state and available for any of Shells' 25 restaurant.
"The hurricane slowed the whole distribution channel," he said. "We had products coming in from Boston (and) from Seattle, but not able to come into Florida because the trucks couldn't get back out. We're running a week or two behind getting products in.
"That's when it matters that you're on top of your distributors so you don't run out," he said.
Hurricanes aside, Ward said his responsibilities include purchasing and negotiating contracts for food items as well as kitchen equipment for Shells. He also oversees contract services such as pest control and waste management. And he said he will be "strategically involved in menu development."
A new lobster sandwich, for example, would require finding the components that go into that sandwich and vendors to provide them, Ward explained.
Ward's appointment comes during a difficult cycle for Shells. The restaurant chain has struggled with same-store sales declines since last year. The crunch led to the closing of a St. Petersburg restaurant earlier this year.
Ward said he was hired to fill an existing executive position, vacant for about a month. "I don't know if I'm seen as a stabilizing factor, but I do have a wealth of experience and a 22-year track record," he said.
A native of Spartanburg, S.C., Ward earned an associate's degree from Midlands Junior College in Columbia, S.C., in 1982. Soon after, he was offered a position in food distribution with PYA/Monarch in Jacksonville, where he began his food service career.
Over the years, he has worked in purchasing for Walt Disney World, Denny's Restaurants, AFC Enterprises (parent company of Church's Chicken in Atlanta), the Peasant Restaurant Group in Atlanta and Buffets Inc., parent of the Old Country Buffet and Hometown Buffet chains.
In 2003, Ward took a position as supply chain manager for airline caterer Gate Gourmet, where he remained until joining Shells.
Ward said he likes finding cost-effective products and purchasing items. "I enjoy the challenge of finding a good deal for a company and lowering food costs," he said. "With the costs of commodities rising every day, it's a challenge every day to find a new supplier or a new choice or a new item that can work on a menu.
"The challenge is having the cost meet the menu design," he said. "If you have a menu in place and prices on commodities keep rising, you have to be able to be competitive in the restaurant industry. You don't want to have one item more expensive than your competitor down the street."
Ward, 43, and his wife, Susan, have two young children. His family still lives in Atlanta, but Ward said he plans to relocate to Tampa in the near future.