Reef Technology President Michael Beacham joins Ghost Kitchen Startup

• Reef succeeded President Michael Beacham, who led the deal with keychains like Wendy’s.
• “Reef chooses to terminate my employment before I can fully complete my mission,” Beach Am said.
• The departure came as the Ghost Kitchen startup slowed growth and fired 750 people.

Insiders learned that Softbank-backed ghost kitchen startup Reef Technology has expelled key executives who led key licensing partnerships with top restaurant chains such as Wendy’s and TGI Friday’s.

In an exclusive statement to insiders, restaurant industry veteran Michael Beacham, who recently held the title of president of the kitchen at Reef, said, “Reef has chosen to terminate my employment.” Stated.

“I have traveled the world day and night for the past 18 months, trying to build a world-class food and beverage executive team. I leveraged 30 years of personal and professional industry relationships. Brought the most famous brand to REEF. Ecosystem. ” “It’s a shame that REEF chose to end my employment before I came here to fully complete the mission I achieved. It’s a good time for this story and what happened to me. There is something that comes out. “

His last day is June 12th.

Beacham, who regularly represented Reef at industry conferences, has been quietly replaced by Kenneth Rourke, now President of Reef’s Kitchen and Retail. Previously in Rourke’s position, he was Executive Vice President and Head of Enterprise Brands. Prior to joining Reef, he was president of Burton G, an experiential restaurant group.

Reef refused to keep a record of his departure and only confirmed that Beach Am had departed and was replaced by Roke. The news arrives a month after the ghost kitchen company cut 5% of its workforce in early May.

The current operations manager said Reef was looking for a faller due to operational issues, and Beacham was a hit. “Although not a good leader, Michael did not make all the bad decisions alone for the company,” the manager said. “The company has more leadership roles than real job roles, so the same problem will continue to occur until Reef begins cleaning the house at the leadership level. Michael repels when many people in leadership are in direct contact. It’s a pity that I’m in charge. “

The manager demanded that he remain anonymous because he was not allowed to speak to the press, but their identities are known to insiders.

Beacham has decades of experience in the restaurant industry and previously held executive positions at the parent company of Olive Garden, Chuck E. Cheese, and Hard Rock Cafe (he and Roke were colleagues). He started working at Reef in October 2020. This was a month before a Miami-based startup raised $ 700 million in SoftBank-led funding.

In February 2021, Beacham replaced Bruce Schroder as President of Reef. During his tenure, he oversaw massive growth at Reef. Reef operates a mobile trailer that sells food for delivery through apps such as DoorDash and UberEats.

Beacham has been responsible for strong partnerships with well-known restaurant chains such as Burger King, Popeyes and Subway, as well as celebrity-backed delivery-only brands such as Mr Beast Burger and Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen.

Reef’s mobile kitchen vessels are usually installed in a reef-managed parking lot, formerly known as Parkjockey. Reef has grown from 100 kitchen vessels in late 2020 to 320 kitchen vessels operating in the United States and around the world in late 2021.

In January, Reef temporarily closed about one-third of its food trailer due to unprofitability. Around the same time, the company began to strengthen partnerships with large corporate brands like Wendy’s. Wendy’s made more money compared to virtual brands.

But as Insider has documented, the rapid growth of startups has been plagued by operational disruptions and failures. The company has been found driving trailers without permission in multiple cities in the United States, quoted as violating food safety protocols, and accused of afflicting vendors.

Insiders recently reported that real estate company JLL sued Reef and claimed an invoice totaling approximately $ 3.5 million. This week, Reef filed a motion to dismiss the JLL proceeding, stating that the complaint contained “a number of fatal flaws.”

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