Warren M. Thompson

President & Chairman
Thompson Hospitality Corporation, Inc.

Warren M. Thompson is the President and Chairman of Thompson Hospitality Corporation, the largest minority-owned food and facilities management services company in the country, with more than 6,000 associates and 2019 revenues in excess of 800 million dollars. Thompson Hospitality now operates in 45 states and six foreign countries, providing a wide range of services.

Thompson Hospitality was founded in 1992, when Warren completed a leveraged buyout of 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants. He proceeded to convert those stores to Shoney’s restaurants and several other proprietary restaurant concepts. He then expanded the company’s interests into the contract foodservice arena, and, in 1997, created Thompson Hospitality Services, LLC by forging a strategic partnership with Compass Group, the leading foodservice and support services company. Through this alliance, Thompson Hospitality currently serves more than 30 Fortune 100 companies, large colleges and universities and urban school districts, and major hospital centers. Additionally, Thompson Hospitality has developed a specialty niche in providing foodservice to many of the Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”).

Thompson Hospitality’s growth in revenue now places the company 9th in Food Management Magazine’s 2020 ranking of the “50 Largest Contract Companies.” Previously a recipient of Black Enterprise Magazine’s coveted “Company of the Year” award, Thompson Hospitality is today ranked 7th among Industrial/Service companies on Black Enterprise’s “BE 100s” list.

In addition to contract food service, Thompson Hospitality has continued its retail expansion through the years with the purchase of the Austin Grill restaurant chain (2006) and Big Buns Darn Good Burgers (2018), as well as the creation of The American Tap Room, brb (“Be Right Burger”), Willie T’s Lobster Shack, and Maker’s Union in 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2020, respectively. The Company also completed the purchase of the Matchbox Bistro in 2020. These Thompson-owned brands are not just successful restaurants “on the street”; they can also be found in many Compass and Thompson Hospitality contract foodservice accounts. As with foodservice, Thompson Hospitality has expanded its capabilities in the facilities management arena as well, providing services to both large corporations and several HBCUs.

On an individual level, Warren Thompson has been recognized throughout his career for his success in business and his contributions to the community. He has received many awards and honors, including the Humanitarian Award from the Congressional Black Caucus’ Annual Legislative Conference. He was recently recognized by Smart CEO Magazine as its “CEO of the Year.”

Warren has had the honor of serving on the Boards of Directors of several institutions, including the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, and Pepsi-Cola’s African American Advisory Board. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Duke Realty, and the Board of Trustees of Hampden-Sydney College, in addition to the Board of Compass Group.

Warren received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Managerial Economics from Hampden-Sydney College and holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.