Dave Shula has been named president of Shula's Restaurant Group, returning to the role he held for nearly two decades as the family-owned restaurant company pursues an active expansion agenda across its six-concept portfolio of more than 30 locations nationwide.
Shula, eldest son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula and a former NFL head coach himself, first joined the family business in 1997 after a coaching career that included a stint as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. He stepped away in 2018 to serve as wide receivers coach at Dartmouth College, his alma mater, through 2023 before returning to the hospitality business.
The Growth Agenda
The immediate expansion pipeline includes the opening of Shula's American Kitchen at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Executive Meeting Center Palm Beach Gardens, scheduled for this winter. Beyond that, the group has confirmed entry into Thomasville, Georgia — a new market for the brand — in 2027, with additional locations under evaluation. Shula will also take responsibility for corporate team development and reinforcing operational culture across the franchise system.
The group's portfolio spans six concepts: Shula's Steak House, Shula's American Kitchen, 347 Grille by Coach Shula, Shula Burger, Shula's Bar & Grill, and PRIME, A Shula's Steak House. That breadth positions the company to address multiple hospitality segments — from hotel food-and-beverage programs to fast-casual burger concepts — giving franchisees a range of entry points depending on market size and real estate format.
Leadership Continuity
For a franchise-driven restaurant group, the return of a legacy operator with deep brand equity carries meaningful commercial weight. Shula's name appears on every franchised location, a point he addressed directly: "My family name is on this organization and each of our franchised locations, so it's important to me as an owner that the company reflects the goals my dad laid out for me when I first joined in 1997."
Founded in 1989, Shula's Steak House was built on the standards that defined Don Shula's 17-0 1972 Miami Dolphins — the only perfect season in NFL history — and the restaurant group has leaned heavily on that legacy as a differentiator in a competitive full-service dining landscape. With independent and franchise restaurant groups under sustained pressure from rising food and labor costs, operators with strong brand recognition and loyal hospitality-sector partnerships, such as the DoubleTree by Hilton relationship, retain a structural advantage in securing new hotel and mixed-use development deals.
Shula's outside commitments include service on the Orange Bowl Committee since 2016 and a recent appointment as vice mayor of Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida, adding civic visibility that could prove useful as the company courts new franchise and development partners in the Southeast.
For franchise development inquiries, the company directs prospective operators to shulas.com/franchise. Industry observers tracking multi-concept restaurant franchise growth can follow related coverage in Food & Beverage Magazine.
Operators and investors evaluating the full-service dining segment should also review F&B Industry News coverage on hotel food-and-beverage partnerships and franchise expansion trends.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
