The first Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill venture outside of California will open this spring at the Springfield Town Center in Springfield, Virginia.
Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, which currently operates 14 restaurants, announced that Jason Fleming has been promoted to mid-Atlantic area director, and that Phill Helton has been promoted to first managing partner of the Springfield location.
Fleming is a 13-year veteran of Wood Ranch and has been the managing partner of the Agoura Hills, California location since 2003. He received his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge and lives with his wife and four children in Herndon, Virginia.
“I am very honored and excited to be leading Wood Ranch’s growth outside of California,” Fleming says. “I think what we do will be very well received on the East Coast.”
Fleming will oversee the Wood Ranch restaurants as they open in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Phill Helton has worked with Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill for eight years, most recently as the managing partner at the Wood Ranch in Orange County’s Rancho Santa Margarita. Helton attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and managed different restaurant concepts before joining Wood Ranch.
In addition, three other current Wood Ranch managers will join the Springfield team.
“We believe we couldn’t be making a stronger statement and commitment to our belief in the DC market and how well we plan to do there,” says Eric Anders, co-founder of Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill and native of Washington, DC. “Having five seasoned managers opening the first Wood Ranch outside our home state allows us to more easily carry our culture of great hospitality across the country.”
The goal is to open multiple restaurants along the East Coast.
“Having this team start us off and gives us a solid foundation from which to grow,” says Ofer Shemtov, co-founder of Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill. “The next leader for the next Wood Ranch is already in place. The challenge is to find that next location, and the one after that, and the one after that.”
