With 30 years of experience in service and hospitality, our team has the knowledge and expertise to take your organization to the next level.

CEO / Founder

Brandon Blanchard

Brandon is a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry, with over 18 years in direct leadership roles. During that time, Brandon has centered his priorities around three major focal points: quality of people, quality of product, and quality of operations. “Being your best is about never allowing the bar to be high enough, continually enhancing your processes, and empowering your highly trained people to execute your vision”

“Brandon Blanchard is a rare gem among consultants. He truly steps into the shoes of the business owner, and brings deep understanding and knowledge to the tasks at hand.”

Robert Galanti, Owner Davisons Downtown, LLC

Professional Experience

Serenbe Hospitality
In 2016, Brandon became the CEO of Serenbe Hospitality, a self-sustaining, eco-friendly community just south of Atlanta. In this role, Brandon was tasked with the oversight and growth of four restaurants and a 54 room Inn that included $7.5 million in annual revenue and over 100 employees. In his first year at Serenbe, Brandon increased Sales at the Blue Eyed Daisy restaurant in the first three months by 11% with year over year tracking up 26% in the first twelve months, and increased profitability by 213%. The Inn at Serenbe saw a 20% increase in Sales in the first year and maintained year over year cash flow stability while conducting a $200,000+ repair and renovation project.

While overseeing The Farmhouse restaurant at Serenbe, sales increased by 26% while increasing profitability by 28% in 2018.During his tenure, Brandon also created and hired key positions in line with current industry standards, developed a new training program, and composed a culture document helping drive the team to a best in class standard. He was responsible for the development and oversight of a newly formed Human Resources Department, including writing individual Management plans for all Department Heads across Serenbe Hospitality. In addition, he provided strategic leadership for the company by working with the senior management team to develop short and long term plans that aligned with the mission and goals, while also acting as director of operations.
Grub Kitchen and Bar
In 2014 Brandon joined a dynamic group of colleagues who shared common goals and had the proven experience to create a best in class start-up restaurant group, Grub Burger Bar. In his role as Market Partner, Brandon successfully facilitated the opening of 7 restaurants in two and a half years, including locations in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Florida. Three of these locations have consistently remained in the top 5 of the company in both sales and profits. Brandon’s other accomplishments include leading the Real Estate Site Selection team in Florida, leading the company’s Food Quality Assurance Team, which included partnering with the Executive Chef to lead the Food Quality Review Board while simultaneously developing a food and waste cost tracking program. In addition, Brandon facilitated the growth and development of the store opening training program at Grub Burger, collaborating with the Director of Training to rewrite the entire training program and lead the training the team.
Outback Steakhouse
Brandon spent over 16 years with Outback Steakhouse, with seven of those years as the Managing Partner in Athens, GA . In 2011 he took a promotion as Joint Venture Partner (JVP) for the South Georgia and Alabama region. During his tenure with Outback Steakhouse, Brandon was named Outbacker of the Year for the Georgia/Alabama/Tennessee market (2007 & 2008), National Partner of the Year (2009), and received the People Development Award (2009 & 2010). In addition, his region was recognized as the Southeast’s Most Improved Market in 2012, growing sales from $20 million to $22.5 million annually.
Testimonials

Praise From Clients & Colleagues

Beth Jones, Controller

Serenbe

I had the pleasure of working with Brandon for over two years during his tenure with Serenbe.  He shared a wealth of information based on his experiences with financial / accounting processes and procedures in the hospitality industry that I use every day.  He listened and sought to understand my perspective before providing insight, which gave me the support and confidence I needed to excel in my role. He was an immeasurable asset for my growth!

Melanie Robertson, Guest Services Manager

The Inn at Serenbe

Brandon is one of the most effective leaders of my hospitality career. His focus on culture, training and communication positively influenced our team at Serenbe. He made sure to celebrate our successes and provided tremendous support in order to elevate all levels of operations. I am very thankful for his guidance and expertise, which has crafted me into the confident leader I am today.

Stephanie Coyne - HR Manager

Serenbe

I worked with Brandon in a multi-concept experience in 2018 and 2019. There is no one more authentic or who will care so equally about your bottom line AND your people! His experience runs the gamut from soup to nuts and no matter what industry you are passionate about, he will meet your level of passion and exceed your expectations in research, planning, and implementation. A consummate professional, Brandon is also very much a “people person,” and you will enjoy working with him!

Drew Matthews, Dir. of Business Development

Central Garden and Pet

Brandon Blanchard is a true leader. He was my leader for 6+ years at Outback Steakhouse in Athens, GA. As I grew into an adult, I sharpened my business prowess under Brandon. I learned many things under his guidance, including P&L management, coaching and teaching, mentoring, and how to lead a group of people. One of Brandon’s adopted phrases is “fair to people, tough on results” and I think that succinctly defines his leadership style. Brandon has an amazing way of being able to relate to his employees, while still getting the most of their abilities.

The standards that are set in his restaurants are always well known by everyone. What sets Brandon apart from others is the way he handles those that don’t meet the standard. Instead of scolding, Brandon shows the employee how to meet the standard, but also how meeting the standard is actually better for the employee as well as the entire team.I am very thankful for my experiences in business with Brandon. So many people establish bad habits at the beginning of their career - I experienced the opposite. Brandon is the type of guy that every organization can learn from.

LaKeisha Frederick, GM

Halsa restaurant at Serenbe

With Brandon Blanchard’s guidance, I never feel like I am alone and in fact, Brandon answers the phone almost every time I called at almost any hour of the day. He bravely approaches and expertly navigates this challenging environment, devoting countless hours to carefully observe and thoroughly understand each operation, patiently listens to employees and managers, and ultimately helping define strategies to improve operational efficiency and food quality at each and every restaurant that I have had the pleasure of working with him at.

Long after working with him in an official capacity, he has continued to lend his expertise to evaluate customer experience and elevate our operations and provide us with a plan on how to minimize costs, improve efficiency, and drive sales.

Teresa Dau, Owner

Dau Global Investments, LLC

Through a series of unexpected events, our group became the owner of a restaurant coming out of bankruptcy.  As an investor, we had no experience with operating a restaurant and immediately enlisted Blanchard Walsh Hospitality to help us rebuild the restaurant from the ground up, both in terms of operations and reputation.

With 30 years of experience in every position within a restaurant, Brandon’s knowledge was invaluable.  He was able to provide advice with respect to every aspect of a restaurant, from food to service to financials.  There is no question that he is invested in his clients and will do anything to ensure that they are in the best possible position to succeed.

Robert Galanti, Owner

Davisons Downtown, LLC

Brandon Blanchard is rare gem among consultants. He truly steps into the shoes of the business owner, and brings deep understanding and knowledge to the tasks at hand. His ability to internalize the issues, understanding them from his own professional experience with a clear vision toward resolution, is the key to his success as a consultant. He has no problem in admitting when someone else may know better than he, and will readily bring additional minds to the table when there is value in doing so.

Businesses are eco-systems, and as Brandon rolled up his sleeves to explore the concern that brought us together, other related issues began to surface. We created a new mission plan together to see our organization through the challenges we faced. Most importantly, he knows how to keep the project moving forward with a solid handle on keeping things on schedule and on budget.

C. Moose Wylde, General Manager

The Pinewood

Working with Brandon was a success in so many ways. I was able to look at business through a different lens, which allowed me to improve my decision making. He was as involved in the process as I was, which added credibility and trust in our partnership. One of Brandon's best traits was his ability to listen, and truly understand a scenario before reacting to it.

When we spoke, I felt he genuinely valued and heard my voice, which gave me the confidence to perform at the highest level. I felt very comfortable having difficult conversations with Brandon because I knew our goals were aligned... to make the best decision possible for our business, and our people.

Our Values

What We Believe

We believe that the measure of a successful business is the continued growth of revenue, profit and most importantly, people.

Vision and Culture

Great culture comes down to answering three questions... What? Why? How? The fundamental steps in building a business for the long haul is creating a vision (the what), a purpose (the why) and values/behaviors (the how). Understanding where you want to go and what you want your business to look like allows you to identify how you will get there.  At Blanchard Walsh, we will help define this concept for your business and develop a strategic plan to achieve your vision and live your purpose

Customer Experience

Above all we believe in delivering a truly remarkable and memorable experience for the customer. Success is achieved by creating an exceptional experience every time a customer encounters your organization.

Exceptional Leadership

Leadership in its simplest terms is inspiring people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.  Exceptional Leaders understand this, and two other ideals at a high level... Cultural Sustainability and People Development. The exceptional leader understands the "what, why and how" of their business and that supporting the growth of their people results in long term success. By following a specific set of values, behaviors and accountability metrics (centered around effective communication), we can help build your leadership team into an exceptional one.

Established in 2019, Blanchard Walsh Hospitality is committed to supporting business growth through comprehensive culture, people development and systemic process modeling.

Helpful Resources

Thoughts from our team

A Welcome Note

Thank you for taking an interest in Blanchard Walsh Hospitality Consulting. Here's what we're up to.

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Building Sustainability in your Business through Culture, Communication and Commitment

If you truly want to build a sustainable company, it begins and ends with the communication of, and

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Exceptional Leadership in Today’s Modern Workplace

How can you be an Exceptional Leader in today's environment? Look at the core of your business first

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