The Grilled Cheese Truck Engages Al Hodges as Chief Executive Officer and President – Food Industry Veteran to Architect National Brand Rollout Through Multiple Sales Channels

  MIAMI, FL - 01/01/1970 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Big Cheese, Inc. d/b/a The Grilled Cheese Truck, a Trilogy Capital Group portfolio company, announced today that it has entered into an employment agreement with fast food industry veteran Al Hodges as Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr. Hodges will assume the position on completion of the company’s current round of financing. The announcement was made by Trilogy Chief Executive Officer A.J. Cervantes.

The Grilled Cheese Truck is being positioned as a national brand with a focus on grilled cheese products. The Grilled Cheese Truck intends to capitalize on its established brand through the rollout of gourmet food trucks, small-footprint retail, pop-ups, kiosks and food carts.

“At end of day, the success of any emerging growth company is a function of the quality and experience of management,” stated Mr. Cervantes. “Al’s extraordinary successes in the QSR industry bode well for the future of The Grilled Cheese Truck brand.” 

Mr. Cervantes continued, “Al brings over 35 years of experience with successes that includes P&L responsibility for over 4,600 Dunkin’ Donuts’ stores with $5 billion in revenues, annually opening 150 to 350 locations throughout the nation.  Additionally, Al has served as Vice President of Marketing / Vice President of Operations Special Concepts with Cinnabon, Inc., repositioning the brand, as well as eight years as National Director of Food Operations for Target Stores.”

“The Grilled Cheese Truck is a proven brand with extraordinary consumer acceptance,” said Mr. Hodges. “Given the historic success Trilogy Capital has had building major companies, I am firmly convinced that the combination of a great brand, Dave Danhi’s extraordinary talent and his contributions as our Chief Creative Officer and the strength of the Trilogy Capital management team, is a winning formula for not just success - but success in the future as a major public company.”

Reg A+ Crowdfunding Offering

Management of The Grilled Cheese Truck intends to file a Reg A+ offering statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to which it will raise capital to fund the execution of the national rollout. The Reg A+ offering is made possible as the result of recent changes in the federal securities laws that permit entrepreneurs to engage in crowdfunded finance. Interested investors can contact crowdfunding@thegrilledcheesetruck.com to receive more information. Please see the important notice below regarding Regulation A+ offerings.

Big Cheese, Inc. and The Grilled Cheese Truck Brand

The Grilled Cheese Truck is a nationally recognized American brand and an entrepreneurial "emerging growth" company with a brand and menu that has been widely followed throughout the nation including the Rachel Ray Show, The Price is Right, ABC Channel 7 (Top Food Truck in Los Angeles), NBC News, Fox News.com, USA Today, Los Angeles Times (Best Food Truck in LA and Southern California), The Cooking Channel, Food &Wine (Best grilled cheese in the U.S.), The Travel Channel, Klout.com (Top 10 Most Influential Food Trucks – 2011), BBC Travel, MSN.com (The Best Food On Wheels), and Zagat Guide.

The Company’s business strategy includes the objective of becoming the largest operator in the gourmet food truck space. The Company is pursuing multiple sales channels while building market share in the gourmet food truck industry. The Company is targeting customers, social media followers and general media attention all attracted to The Grilled Cheese Truck's established brand. The Company’s business strategy includes The Grilled Cheese Truck offerings in gourmet food trucks, small footprint retail, kiosks, food carts, stadiums, military bases, universities, casinos and related venues, festivals, motorsports, action sports, team sports, large outdoor events/concerts, large churches and schools. Management has extensive experience and success in managing rapid roll-ups in early stage, highly fragmented industries. The Company seeks to operate both company-owned and franchised The Grilled Cheese Truck operations with an emphasis on franchised rights to Veterans as part of its growth strategy. For more information about The Grilled Cheese Truck, please visit www.thegrilledcheesetruck.com

Please clink on this link for The Grilled Cheese Truck corporate video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAEozG_d6cQ

About Trilogy Capital Partners

Trilogy Capital Group, LLC is a Miami-based private equity group principally engaged in the development of a series of private-to-public companies on a sector agnostic basis. Trilogy acquires or develops domestic and international companies pursuant to a buy and build or consolidation business model. Trilogy Capital Group and its predecessor company, Trilogy Capital Partners, have been engaged in private equity, merchant banking and strategic advisory services since 2002. For more information about Trilogy Capital, please visit www.trilogy-capital.com

About Algie Hodges, Chief Executive Officer and President

Mr. Hodges, 58, brings over 35 years of operational expertise as a veteran executive with extensive experience in strategic planning, profit/loss accountability, marketing, sales growth, rapid unit growth, acquisitions, change management and business turnarounds in the retail food service industry, quick service restaurants, fast casual restaurants and organizational growth to his CEO role. Mr. Hodges served as Vice President of Domestic and International Operations for Smoothie King Franchise, Inc., Vice President of Food and Beverage for Mapco Mart Express and as Vice President of Operations Fazoli's System Management, Inc. Mr. Hodges also served as Dunkin' Brands Region Vice President and Vice President Eastern Seaboard where he lead a two-year operations initiative known as "Dunkin Wins," that restructured the field organization, established metrics for outcome-based performance drivers and implemented guest satisfaction measures that corrected three years of negative same-store sales and declining customer transactions. His executive leadership position at Dunkin' included multi-site operations and strategic business planning for over 4,600 stores with $5 billion in revenues, annually opening 150 to 350 locations throughout the nation. Previously, Mr. Hodges held multi-unit executive positions with the RTM Restaurant Group as a Region President/Partner and franchisee owner where he acquired and built over 200 restaurants concepts. He served as Vice President of Marketing / Vice President of Operations Special Concepts with Cinnabon, Inc. repositioning the brand. Mr. Hodges spent a sixteen-year career at Target Stores that included many acquisitions, re-branding and the opening of 10 to 28 stores at time, with eight years as National Director of Food Operations as a key member of the team that developed the first Super Target concept, helping the chain to grow from 80 locations to nearly 800 in his career. Mr. Hodges has served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, the United Cerebral Palsy, and the Alabama Sports Foundation and presided as Chairman of the Board for Kid One Transport, an organization that provides transportation to the doctor for those that could not afford to do so in the black belt of Alabama. He also served on the Presidents Council for the University of Alabama. Mr. Hodges has been a featured speaker at both the MUFSO and COEX Conventions as a Retail Food Service Specialist. He attended the University of Missouri at St. Louis and Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas.

Important Notice Regarding Regulation A+

Big Cheese, Inc. d/b/a The Grilled Cheese Truck is “Testing the Waters” under Regulation A of the Securities Act of 1933.  We will only be able to make sales of securities to you after we have filed an offering statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the SEC has qualified the offering statement.  The Information in that offering statement will be more complete than the information that we are providing to you now and it could differ in important ways.  You must read the offering statement and documents filed with the SEC before investing in our company.  No money or other consideration is being solicited, and if sent, will not be accepted.  No sales will be made or commitments to purchase accepted until the offering statement is qualified.  Any indication of your interest to invest in our offering is non-binding.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release and of the management or representatives of Big Cheese, Inc. in connection therewith that relate to beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, intentions and future financial condition, results of operations or business performance constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations about future events. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and by words such as "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "expect," "project," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan" or other similar words or expressions, and include statements regarding the our ability to commence a significant level of operations and develop the Grilled Cheese Truck brand into a nationally recognized brand, our ability to develop a successful and profitable business model that includes both company-owned and franchise grilled cheese truck operations, our ability to raise capital in a Regulation A+ or other securities offering, our ability to execute our proposed national rollout through multiple sales channels, our ability to rollout gourmet food trucks, small-footprint retail, pop-ups, kiosks and food carts. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this press release may turn out to be inaccurate or wrong. This can occur as a result of inaccurate assumptions or as a consequence of significant known or unknown risks and uncertainties, including the risks related to the Company’s ability to raise necessary capital to fund its growth, operate its business successfully given the lack of track record and early stage of operations, manage growth effectively, comply with regulations applicable to its business, compete successfully given the high level of competition, and retain and engage talented employees and key personnel necessary to execute the company’s business plan. Because of these risks and uncertainties, the Company's actual results may differ materially from those that might be anticipated from its forward-looking statements. Therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. All trademarks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.