Sam Hallak has been named CEO of Pacific Catch, the Brentwood Associates-backed seafood restaurant group operating 16 locations across California. Hallak succeeds co-founder Keith Cox, who moves to the board, and inherits a brand already in geographic expansion mode — the chain opened a Brea, California location in May 2026, extending its footprint into Orange County from its Northern California base.
The Operator Profile
Hallak brings more than 20 years of multi-unit, full-service restaurant experience to the role. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Innovative Dining Group, overseeing a 16-restaurant portfolio that includes Sushi Roku, BOA Steakhouse, and Katana — brands that operate in a similar upscale-casual, experience-forward segment. Before that, he held COO and VP of Operations roles at The Kitchen Restaurant Group and area director responsibilities at Tavistock Restaurant Collection, and spent nearly a decade at The Palm Restaurant Group. That trajectory — from area director to multi-concept COO — is the profile private equity investors typically seek when a brand transitions from founder-led growth to systems-driven scale.
What the Hire Signals
For operators and vendors tracking the West Coast casual dining landscape, this appointment is a clear signal that Brentwood Associates is moving Pacific Catch into an active unit-growth phase. PE-backed restaurant brands at the 16-unit mark typically prioritize three things before accelerating: operational standardization, hospitality consistency across locations, and menu architecture that can travel without losing brand identity. Hallak's mandate — as stated publicly — covers all three. His emphasis on "tighter operational execution" and a menu that "keeps evolving with our guests" suggests Pacific Catch is preparing its systems for a higher unit count, not just filling a leadership gap.
For food and beverage suppliers, tech vendors, and regional operators watching the Southern California market, Pacific Catch's southward push is worth tracking. The brand's Pacific Rim flavor positioning and sustainable seafood sourcing standards will likely create procurement conversations as it opens in new markets with different supply chain dynamics than the Bay Area. Vendors serving the polished-casual seafood segment in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego should treat this leadership change as a procurement-calendar reset — new CEOs at growing PE-backed chains routinely revisit supplier relationships within their first two quarters.
Rahul Aggarwal, Partner at Brentwood Associates, cited Hallak's "operational discipline and hospitality instincts" as the deciding factors — language that signals the investor is prioritizing margin and guest experience over pure top-line velocity at this stage. That sequencing matters: brands that tighten operations before scaling tend to sustain unit economics better through rapid expansion, which is the outcome any equity partner needs before a potential exit or further capital raise.
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.
