New CEO Steps In at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux

Chris Dawson, formerly the multi-brand president at the automotive services company Driven Brands, has secured a new role as the CEO of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux—a 20-year-old brand with 78 restaurants and 116 in the development pipeline.

In under six years at Driven Brands, Dawson rose from his initial role in establishing the Take 5 Oil Change brand to his latest role as president of the more than 1,400-unit Paint & Collision vertical at Driven Brands.

“My last few years have been spent scaling brands nationally, and I look forward to leading Walk-On’s on this same journey,” Dawson says in a press release.

“The next few years are about leadership and building a world-class infrastructure to support our franchisees as we scale.”

Already, Walk-On’s has almost doubled in size since private equity partner 10 Point Capital first invested in 2020. “Walk-On’s will be a 500-plus unit brand,” says Scott Pressly, managing director of 10 Point Capital. “The next few years are about leadership and building a world-class infrastructure to support our franchisees as we scale. Chris joining the brand underscores our commitment to investing in support of this growth.”

Dawson says he plans to build out a “high-performing and seasoned leadership team” to help push Walk-On’s to the next level, the release details.

In addition to Walk-On’s, 10 Point Capital has aided in the national expansion of brands such as Slim Chickens, Smalls Sliders, Phenix Salon Suites and Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

Walk-On’s, based in Baton Rouge, was founded in 2003 by former LSU walk-on basketball player Brandon Landry. In 2022, the brand debuted its “Wildcat prototype” and also opened its first campus location.