Bob Evans' Chairman of the Board Steve Davis

Описание: Remember the jingle -- "Bob Evans, down on the farm?" The "farm" headquarters is moving from its decades' old location Columbus' south side to New Albany in the fall, which is more than just a geographic move from Columbus' south side to the posh, growing suburb. After negotiations with City of Columbus officials with incentive offers to stay within the city limits, Steve Davis, chairman of the board and CEO, of Bob Evans Farms Inc, led the decision to move the company headquarters from Columbus.

State of Ohio officials also offered incentives to keep the company based in Ohio with no preference for specific location within the state. Ultimately, Bob Evan's leadership selected New Albany's location, incentive options and overall plan as the best fit for the brand new headquarters. The south side was outraged, hurt and disappointed that Bob Evans would abandon its roots and with it, the longtime support for the south side community.

In an interview with Business First publisher Don DePerro, Davis will discuss the company's strategy to move, if and how they have fulfilled their promised not to leave a vacuum at their south side office location and his vision of the company.

Since 2006, Davis has led this publicly held restaurant and food products company with over $1.75 billion in annual revenue -- that's a lot of sausage. The company has 565 Bob Evans and Mimi's restaurants in 19 states. Their food products are sold in the restaurants and also in grocery stores across the country. The company, best known for breakfast, has expanded the restaurant menu and grocery items to include lunch and dinner options.

Davis is the first non-family member to lead the company. Davis has had a successful career in the food and restaurant industry with companies such as Kraft General Foods where he worked in Kraft's cheese business and with All American Gourmet. Prior to Bob Evans, Davis worked at Yum! Brands Inc. where he was president of Long John Silver's and A & W All-American Food Restaurants when he left the company.