CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 8, 2026--
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill (“Firebirds”), the award-winning, polished-casual American restaurant and steakhouse, today announced that restaurant industry veteran Jeff Uttz has been named the Company’s new Chief Financial Officer, effective May 18, 2026.
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“We are thrilled to welcome Jeff Uttz to the Firebirds family,” said Steve Kislow, Chief Executive Officer of Firebirds Wood Fired Grill. “His extensive experience guiding high-growth restaurant companies through critical expansion phases, combined with his deep expertise in cross-functional collaboration, makes him the perfect addition to our executive team. As we continue to strengthen our leadership position in the polished casual dining segment, Jeff's strategic vision and proven ability to develop and lead high performing finance organizations will be invaluable. We look forward to his contributions as we write the next chapter of growth for Firebirds."
Mr. Uttz brings an exceptional track record of financial leadership across some of the industry’s most respected brands. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Kura Sushi, a technology-enabled revolving sushi concept, where he successfully improved corporate profitability through G&A savings and technology-driven efficiencies that support the Company’s growth trajectory and was instrumental in leading two successful public follow-on offerings. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Shake Shack Inc., where he played a critical role in executing the company’s initial public offering, developing the finance organization and supporting cross-functional efforts to open 45 new restaurants. Additionally, Mr. Uttz served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Yard House USA, Inc., an American sports bar chain, where he established the company’s finance infrastructure, actively supported all real estate transactions, and facilitated the successful acquisition of Yard House by Darden Restaurants, Inc. He has also held financial leadership positions at CKE Restaurants Inc. and began his career at the public accounting firm KPMG, LLP.
“Over the last two decades, Firebirds has built a truly unique guest experience, bringing people together over their signature open wood-fired grills to enjoy delicious hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood, other wood-fired favorites, and the award-winning FIREBAR. Coupled with an elevated level of hospitality typically reserved for fine dining concepts, the Firebirds difference is unmistakable,” said Mr. Uttz. “I’ve had the privilege of working with several exceptional restaurant concepts during pivotal phases of expansion, and I see that same tremendous opportunity here at Firebirds. I look forward to partnering with Steve and the entire leadership team to build upon the strong foundation they’ve created and help ignite the clear potential ahead to drive long-term, sustainable growth.”
The appointment comes as Firebirds continues to strategically grow its brand across the United States. In addition to its current system footprint of nearly 70 restaurants, the Company plans to open seven new locations in 2026, which includes its anticipated entrance into the Lexington, Kentucky market – its first restaurant in the state.
About Firebirds Wood Fired Grill
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is a privately owned polished casual American restaurant concept offering an energetic twist on the traditional grill, featuring a boldly flavored menu in an elevated, fire-centric atmosphere. Signature menu items include hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood seared over locally sourced hickory, oak or pecan wood on Firebirds’ exposed wood-fired grill. Complementing its inviting dining room, guests will find the award-winning FIREBAR ® and a full-service patio with seasonal comforts. Firebirds partners with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation year-round, having raised nearly $5 million for childhood cancer research through the sale of fresh-squeezed lemonade. Firebirds was named one of 10 ‘Breakout Brands’ by Nation’s Restaurant News and was awarded the Diners’ Choice Winner by OpenTable. Visit firebirdsrestaurants.com to become a member of Firebirds’ Inner Circle, make an OpenTable reservation or order online.
Firebirds appoints Jeff Uttz as CFO.
WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to try to smooth over the president's anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.
Trump had suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, as Iran effectively shut it and sent gas prices soaring.
The Republican president's meeting with Rutte, with whom he had a warm relationship, comes as the U.S. and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait. The nascent ceasefire was struck after Trump said he would strike Iran's power plants and bridges, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight."
The plan to reopen the strait is still cloudy and is expected to be a central focus of the Wednesday afternoon meeting with Rutte. The White House said the meeting was expected to be behind closed doors. In the Trump administration, though, that can change at the last minute, and meetings can be opened to the press.
Congress in 2023 passed a law that prevents any U.S. president from pulling out of NATO without its approval. Trump has been a longtime critic of NATO and in his first term had suggested he had the authority on his own to leave the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union.
The crux of the commitment its 32 member countries make is a mutual defense agreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on them all. The only time it has been activated was in 2001, to support the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Despite that, Trump has complained during his war of choice with Iran that NATO has shown it will not be there for the U.S.
Ahead of the meeting, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, issued a statement Tuesday night in support of the alliance, noting that, “Following the September 11th attacks, NATO allies sent their young servicemembers to fight and die alongside America’s own in Afghanistan and Iraq.” McConnell, who sits on a committee overseeing defense spending, urged Trump to be “clear and consistent” and said it's not in America's interest to “spend more time nursing grudges with allies who share our interests than deterring adversaries who threaten us.”
If Rutte's meeting does not alleviate Trump's frustrations, it's unclear if the Trump administration would challenge the law barring a president from pulling out of NATO. When the law passed, it was championed by Trump's current secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who at the time was a senator from Florida.
The alliance was already rattled over the past year as Trump returned to power and reduced U.S. military support for Ukraine in the war against Russia and threatened to seize Greenland from ally Denmark.
But Trump's badgering of NATO intensified after the Iran war began at the end of February, with the president insisting that securing the Strait of Hormuz was not America's job but the responsibility of countries that depend on the flow of oil through it.
“Go to the strait and just take it,” Trump said last week.
Trump was also angered as NATO allies Spain and France forbade or restricted use of their airspace or joint military facilities for the U.S. in the Iran war. They and other nations, however, agreed to help with an international coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz when the conflict ends.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been a particular source of Trump's frustration, was set to travel on Wednesday to the Gulf to support the ceasefire. The U.K. has been working on developing a post-conflict security plan for the strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Trump has previously threatened to leave NATO and often said that he would abandon allies who don’t spend enough on their military budgets. Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in his recent memoir, said he feared that Trump might walk away from the alliance in 2018, during his first term as president.
Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during the launch of the NATO Secretary General's Annual Report for 2025 at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte takes questions from journalists during the launch of the NATO Secretary General's Annual Report for 2025 at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
