Laurie Burns
Laurie Burns
Laurie Burns is president of Bahama Breeze, one of the brands
in Darden Restaurants’ Specialty Restaurant Group. Laurie joined Darden in 1999 as Vice President
of Development for Red Lobster and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Development for Darden
in 2000; she was promoted to President of Bahama Breeze in March 2003. Laurie has more than 20
years of experience in the restaurant/hospitality industry. Prior to Darden she was Vice President
of Development in the eastern U.S. for Homestead Village, an extended stay hotel company. Prior to
that, Laurie was Director of Real Estate for Apple South and spent eight years in various
development positions at Taco Bell. She received both her B.S. in Business Administration and
M.B.A. from the University of Florida.
