Mike Axiotis has over 19 years of increasingly responsible management experience with the Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, 5 prior years as the Owner Operator of his own start-up restaurant, and 7 earlier years with his family’s restaurant. Whether it’s our extensive community outreach, sterling record of employee engagement & success and high level of guest satisfaction and loyalty, Mike’s special influence touches all the greatest aspects and values of our organization.
Through his tireless hard work, love of the hospitality business and people, and his commitment to excellence, Mike’s ascension was well earned. In 1998, in the early stages of the Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, consisting of 3 Red Robins, Mike was hired as an Assistant Manager. In 2000, he earned his first promotion to General Manager. From 2000-2004, he became the go-to turnaround GM for underperforming operations. By improving staffing and employee morale and implementing effective operational systems, Mike consistently increased sales, profitability, and guest satisfaction. In 2004, he became Executive GM, overseeing 2 restaurants and in 2005, earned the promotion to Regional Operations Director in charge of 4 restaurants. In 2005, Mike led the start-up hiring, training, operations and marketing of his 5th restaurant, and in 2006, opened his 6th. In 2007, he opened his 7th, overseeing all 7 restaurants, their GM’s, and a total of 700 team members to ensure adherence to brand standards and operating procedures. From 2007 to 2010, Mike oversaw 2 of our training restaurants, developed his GM’s, staffed other locations, and helped increase revenues of his 7 Red Robin’s to $22M. In 2010, Mike was promoted to VP of Operations of all 17 restaurants with combined revenues of $48M. 2011 to 2015, he added 4 additional restaurants, bringing our portfolio to 21 restaurants and over 2000 team members with revenues exceeding $70M. In 2015, Mike took on added responsibilities to become our Executive VP of Operations. In 2017, he became certified in Franchise Management from Georgetown University. In August 2017, Mike was promoted to President of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group.