Equity Bank Series: Scott Redler - COO of Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A restaurant operator to the core, Scott loves the sights, sounds and smells of a well-run restaurant. Growing up in St. Louis, he got his start in the restaurant business at age 15 catering events for groups of two to 6000. Paying his way through college by managing a steakhouse, he earned a degree in restaurant and hotel management. Redler moved to Minneapolis and then Washington, DC, to manage a 5-star restaurant. Back in St. Louis, he launched his first restaurant as a sole proprietor—a quick-service Chinese food concept called Shanghai Charlie's. After selling that, he moved back to DC to serve as Executive Vice-President for the American Café. Scott eventually moved to Wichita, KS, accepting the position of Executive Vice President of a local restaurant group. In 1997, Scott together with Bill Simon opened Timberline Steakhouse. In 2002, Redler again partnered with Bill Simon and his brother Randy to launch Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.  Freddy's based in Kansas, has grown to more than 340 locations at last tally, and the entire chain generated $474.7 million in system-wide sales last year, creating $21.3 million in revenue for the home office—about $10 million of that as profit.