Unstoppable Together: Craveworthy Brands Launches Crave University and Awards $20,000 Scholarships at First-Ever CraveCon

Hospitality Platform Launches Crave University on Mission to Tell 100,000 Success Stories, Empowering Restaurant and Franchise Leaders With Resilience and People-First Values

CHICAGO, Oct. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Craveworthy Brands ("Craveworthy,") the multi-brand restaurant platform redefining hospitality, launched Crave University and awarded $20,000 in scholarships at its first-ever company conference, CraveCon 2025. The initiative reflects Craveworthy's people-first values and commitment to creating opportunities that go far beyond the four walls of a restaurant.

The inaugural conference, made possible through the invaluable support of Craveworthy's vendor partners and industry community, including Sysco, Eco Lab and Edward Don and Company along with many others, brought together leaders from across the country to collaborate on building the future legacy and leaders in hospitality.

Crave University: Building The Next Generation of Restaurant Leaders

Led by Cassie Miller, Senior Vice President of Training, Crave University is a first-of-its-kind program that blends advanced coursework, soft-skill development and hands-on practice to prepare hospitality leaders for long-term success.

The program equips leaders, from Shift Supervisors to the C-suite, with the confidence, skills and real-world training they need to build strong teams and deliver exceptional guest experiences. With five levels of education, team members progress through structured curriculum that includes syllabi, workbooks, scenario-based learning and courses in areas like emotional intelligence, communication and dynamic leadership.

Every level culminates in a capstone project and requires successful completion before advancement, creating a clear pipeline of leadership development across Craveworthy's brands. By providing both a safe space to grow long-term and a structured path forward, Crave University shortens the leadership learning curve and sets a new standard for professional advancement in hospitality.

"No other restaurant company has done this before," said Miller. "Crave University is a hospitality leadership program unlike anything in the industry, designed by the best of the best to hit our goal of 100,000 success stories in the next 10 years. We're building a legacy not just of great restaurants, but of great leaders who embody care, resilience and operational excellence."

Operational Excellence: Values That Withstand Every Challenge

CraveCon also highlighted Craveworthy's operational philosophy, led by Kirk Hillabrand, Senior Vice President of Franchise Operations, and Kristin Albert, Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations. Together, they outlined how Craveworthy turns its core values into daily habits inside restaurants – running all operations with consistency, precision and care while building a culture of accountability and resilience.

"Our operators succeed because they embrace the fundamentals of true hospitality – people first, the courage to take risks, resilience to prove the doubters wrong, a commitment to building impact every day and doing the work and owning the outcome," said Albert.

"Not everything will go the way we always want, but our values endure because we remain resilient. We face challenges head-on, and even if we fall short, we go down fighting. That determination is what drives us forward to greater things," Founder and CEO, Gregg Majewski added.

Investing in The Future of Hospitality Leaders

CraveCon closed with recognition of the people who bring Craveworthy's values to life every day. The Company honored 30 incredible success stories from across its brands this past year, including "Operator of The Year," Carmen Balbi, Area Manager at Taim Mediterranean Kitchen in New York City, for her dedication to dynamic restaurant leadership and exceptional guest experiences.

The celebration culminated with the first-ever scholarship awards, funded equally by Craveworthy and Hall of Famer and basketball legend, Shaquille O'Neal. The program awarded $10,000 scholarships to two leaders who reflect the Company's commitment to investing in the next generation of leaders – both inside the four walls of the restaurant and beyond. The 2025 recipients were Kianna Turner, General Manager of Big Chicken in Las Vegas, and Klaudia Rudny, Head of Public Relations at Craveworthy.

Majewski concluded, "Our greatest success won't be measured by the number of restaurants we open or the sales we achieve. It will be measured by the people we invest in, the leaders we grow and the lives we impact. That's what makes Craveworthy unstoppable – together."

To learn more about Craveworthy Brands, please visit https://www.craveworthybrands.com.

ABOUT CRAVEWORTHY BRANDS

Craveworthy Brands , the parent company of Shaquille O'Neal-founded Big Chicken, Bd's Mongolian Grill, Dirty Dough, Flat Top Grill, Fresh Brothers Pizza, Genghis Grill, Gregorys Coffee, Hot Chicken Takeover, Krafted Smashburgers, Lucky Cat Poke Co., Nomad Dawgs, Pastizza Pizza & Pasta, Scramblin' Ed's, Sigri Indian BBQ, Soom Soom Mediterranean, Taim Mediterranean Kitchen, The Budlong Southern Chicken and Wing It On!, is dedicated to breathing new life into legacy brands while supercharging emerging concepts. The Company brings together diverse, yet complementary brands and an accomplished, veteran leadership team in the growing culinary space. In addition to building and operating leading restaurant brands, Craveworthy Brands is active in the communities it serves and creates exciting career opportunities for its team members. Bridging the distinctive individuality of its concepts with a shared culture and spirit of collaboration, the Company's goal is to create truly unique and craveworthy experiences every day, every shift and at every turn. Learn more about Craveworthy and its brands at www.craveworthybrands.com.