Salt Lake City, UT (Restaurant News Release) Brandon Batt, a restaurant operator and people strategy leader with 12 years at Savory, announced his departure to launch The Tabletop Group, an executive search and advisory firm where he will serve as founder and Chief Executive Officer.
During his tenure at Savory, Batt helped scale teams and infrastructure through more than 200 restaurant openings across more than 15 brands. His approach is rooted in lived operator reality, not agency theory. He has worked inside restaurants and growing platforms where the stakes are daily execution: showing up short staffed, carrying shifts, feeling the drag of the wrong leader in the wrong seat, and watching great teams get throttled by the wrong systems and tech. He built recruiting, People Operations, and hiring infrastructure with that operator mindset, focused on speed, simplicity, and outcomes in the field.
“The operator experience changes everything,” said Batt. “I have witnessed first-hand what it feels like to be down three line cooks on a Friday night. I know the cost of a leadership miss when you’re trying to scale. I know how painful it is when your tech stack is slowing managers down instead of helping them win. Most firms haven’t lived that. I have, and that perspective is exactly why The Tabletop Group will be different.”
The Tabletop Group partners with restaurant founders, CEOs, and investors to source Presidents, C-suite leaders, and board members. Additionally, it advises them on the systems that make leadership hires actually stick. The firm’s work is designed to reduce leadership churn, improve operating rhythm, and build teams that can scale without losing culture.
The Tabletop Group is built to feel like an extension of the operator’s team. Batt brings firsthand experience building teams through growth, opening restaurants, and supporting leaders across multiple brands and markets, with a focus on cultural alignment, competency, and execution.
“I’m grateful for my time at Savory and the leaders who invested in me,” Batt added. “Josh Boshard, Savory’s COO, gave me my start and trusted me with real responsibility early. Co-Founder Andrew Smith raised my bar and taught me how to think bigger. That foundation is why I’m confident in what comes next.”
For more information about The Tabletop Group or to discuss executive search or advisory partnerships, contact:
About The Tabletop Group
The Tabletop Group is an operator-led executive search and advisory firm helping restaurant and hospitality companies hire the right leaders and build the people and operating systems required to scale.
Media Contact:
Brandon Batt
CEO, The Tabletop Group
brandon@thetabletopgroup.com
TheTabletopGroup.com