Fast Casual: To Help Hit Its 1,000 Store Goal, Smoothie King Hires New Chief Development Officer to Lead Their Efforts

Smoothie King , which has 780 stories, plans to hit 1,000 restaurants by the end of 2017 and Kevin King is leading the efforts. Recently appointed as the chief development officer, he spent the last 10 years doubling Papa Murphy's original size. He is now looking for similar results at Smoothie King .

"The company has the right systems in place; there is a very strong leadership team. We have a good market plan and the right tools in order to execute those plans allowing us to develop stores," King said.

Smoothie King CEO, Wan Kim, began his ventures with Smoothie King as a franchisee in South Korea. He eventually bought the entire brand in 2012. He is excited to have King on the team.

"I can't find another concept that I feel the same way about. I looked and realized this is the one I most believe in. When I bought the company, I told employees that they had to believe in what we did, like where we are going, or step down," Kim said.

To grow the brand, he realized he would need an experienced leader specializing in the growth.