The Founders - Bobby's Burgers

the founders

bobby flay

owner

Chef Bobby Flay craves one thing when he’s done working in the kitchens of his fine-dining restaurants — A BURGER! Bobby’s Burgers is everything you would expect from a Bobby Flay dining experience at a price everyone can love.

In his Food Network Show, Food Nation™, Bobby Flay traveled across the U.S. sampling foods of many cultures. Today, he combines his favorite tastes and love of the grill into one of the most unique American menus available. Bobby’s Burgers offers 5-star, made-to-order deliciousness he discovered along his legendary career.

Did you know Bobby was the first chef to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? He is also the author of 16 cookbooks and has amassed five daytime Emmy Awards. A proven success in the kitchen and a formidable restauranter who curates memorable dining experiences for guests worldwide.

Laurence Kretchmer

Co-Owner & Managing Partner

Behind the scenes at Chef Bobby Flay’s restaurants is the reserved yet forceful presence of Laurence Kretchmer, co–owner, and managing partner. The two first collaborated when they swung open the doors of Mesa Grill in New York in 1991. Since then, the creative pair have opened multiple other restaurant locations in the U.S. and internationally. Kretchmer oversees all operational, financial, and business matters as well as new business development for Bobby and Laurence’s restaurants. Kretchmer’s business and management acumen and extensive restaurant development and operations experience symbiotically work with Flay’s talents for creating ever–evolving and irresistible menus. The two enjoy a close friendship and a complementary professional alliance. Yet at the heart of it, Kretchmer puts it best, “We‘re both hard–core New Yorkers.” The pair thrives on the energy of dining out and works tirelessly to infuse their own restaurants with this vitality and excitement.

JOSHUA Lorence

Chief Operating Officer

Josh Lorence is an experienced restaurant operations executive with a demonstrated record of success leading and growing start–up and established quick–service and fast casual brands. Josh initially joined Bobby’s Burgers Palace as Chief Operating Officer in 2015 and now serves in the same role for Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay—overseeing all operations, training, supply chain, and brand innovation. Prior to leading Chef Flay’s burger brand, Josh served as Director of Operations and Development and then Chief Operating Officer for Burgerfi International, LLC. In three years, Josh led a team that grew Burgerfi from only two units to more than sixty, implementing operating systems and structures for sustained expansion. Earlier in his career, Josh served as Founder and Managing Partner for AIM Restaurant Consulting, a restaurant consulting company focused on QSR and Fast Casual concepts in the Washington, D.C. area. Josh and his team provided operations and growth strategies to corporate executive teams and multi–unit franchisees at industry–leading brands such as Bon Chon Chicken, Elevation Burger, and Jimmy John’s.