A letter from Sonny’s BBQ CEO Jamie Yarmuth
To our Sonny’s family,
Thank you for allowing me to share both my own thoughts and the unified view of the Sonny’s Franchise Company as they relate to the extremely troubling events of the past week. At a very personal level, I watched the death of George Floyd with horror. I anguished about how a moral and ethical issue can turn into a political one. I support the right to protest and decry violence and prejudice in all its forms.
From the perspective of Sonny’s, we know that many of you in our Sonny’s family are in significant pain. We want you to know that we absolutely value, encourage and recognize the diversity of our team members and our guests. We embrace our personal differences and the benefits that an array of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives bring to our restaurants. After all, the heart and soul of Sonny’s BBQ is the people who spread the spirit of BBQ. A spirit that brings people together.
As Sonny’s BBQ, with such a loyal community of team members and guests, we have a responsibility to use our platform for social good and we know there is still more work to be done. We reaffirm a zero-tolerance policy against racism and maintain an ongoing focus on diversity, inclusion, and unconscious bias training.
I commit to and encourage you to continue to spread kindness and treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve. We know that when we work together as a family to uphold our values and honor our differences, we can make Sonny’s, and our communities, a better place for everyone.
Jamie Yarmuth
CEO
Sonny’s Franchise Company
