Eureka! Restaurant Group, the all-American brand with the cult following for its highly regarded 100% American craft whiskey, beer, and cocktail program paired with an approachable creative scratch kitchen, is pleased to announce that effective January 7, 2021, Eric Berman has been appointed as the company’s President.
Eric brings a wealth of expertise to this role, having served as Eureka!’s Chief Restaurant Operations Officer for over four years. Eric is an experienced strategist with a deep understanding of how to build strong guest-forward brands while leveraging operational scale across a national landscape. Eric is a strong leader with a proven track record of developing diverse and high performing teams.
His capabilities include extensive hospitality industry experience, strong financial acumen, and experience in growth minded restaurant groups. Prior to joining Eureka!, Eric served for nine years as Senior Regional Vice President for BJ’s Restaurants where he oversaw 45 restaurants with combined sales over $225 million. Eric’s restaurants spanned 12 states and helped grow the company from approximately 75 restaurants to over 190 when he left to join Eureka!
Prior to BJ’s Restaurants, Eric held the position of Area Director for The Cheesecake Factory overseeing $100 million in sales. Eric worked at The Cheesecake Factory for 15 years where he held many positions as he grew with the company from 5 restaurants to 100.
Eric holds a Bachelor’s Degree and Masters Degree from the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) with an emphasis on Hospitality. He is a guest lecturer to hospitably students at UNLV on a regular basis. Eric and his wife Sara reside in Las Vegas with their three children Max (currently at Purdue University), Stella and Grace.
“Eric’s passion and leadership are contagious; his ability to motivate, inspire and maximize the performance of every restaurant is best in class, that’s the “lead by example” behavior that challenges our team members to mirror his success,” said Eureka!’s Co-founder and Chief Development Officer Paul Frederick. “I look forward to working with him in his new role as Eureka!’s President and the positive impact we know he will continue to deliver at Eureka!” Eureka!’s previous CEO Justin Nedelman has stepped down from his role and he resigned his Board seat effective January 7, 2021. As a Co-founder of Eureka! Restaurant Group, Justin was instrumental in building the company into what it is today.
ABOUT EUREKA!:
Eureka! owns and operates 24 restaurants throughout California, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, and Washington. The brand proudly serves only authentic, house-made fare procuring locally sourced products all freshly cooked to order. The award-winning beverage program features a unique 100% American craft beer, small batch whiskey, and specialty cocktail program sourced only from the most unique artisans throughout America.
