Burney Jennings, executive chair and former CEO of the Biscuitville chain, is the new chair of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, whose members employ 11% of the state’s workforce.
The group’s board elected the Greensboro restaurateur to a one-year term at a meeting this week. Others elected to the board are Tom Pashley president of Pinehurst Resort as vice chair; chef proprietor Jason Smith with 18 Restaurant Group, which owns two Cantina 18 restaurants in Raleigh and Harvest 18 in Durham, as treasurer; Executive Vice President Sheri Erhart of Raleigh-based CMC Hotels as secretary; Jim Beley general manager of the Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary as the travel & tourism Board liaison; and Lance Trenary, the CEO of Raleigh-based Golden Corral as the National Restaurant Association liaison. Outgoing board chair Amber Moshakos from LM Restaurants is immediate past chair.
In addition to the executive committee, the board also added three new members: Kelly Harrill, executive vice president of Greensboro-based Koury Hospitality Group, chef Cheetie Kumar, formerly of Garland restaurant, and Jim Gratton, general manager of Marriott SouthPark Charlotte.
The trade association focuses on key industry issues including workforce development, training and recruiting, and cultivating relationships with policymakers.
Jennings has served on the group’s board since 2017. He is the former CEO of his family-owned business, Biscuitville Fresh Southern. His father, Maurice Jennings, who died in 2020, started the company when he opened two Mountainbrook Fresh Bread and Milk stores in Burlington in 1966.
The first Biscuitville opened in Danville, Virginia, in 1975. There are now 65 Biscuitville restaurants in North Carolina and Virginia.
The association represents more than 20,000 businesses that generate more than $27.3 billion in annual sales.