Anita Adams was promoted from president to chief executive officer of Black Bear Diner. The family dining chain also hired Jeff Guido to serve as chief operating officer. Adams assumes the CEO role from Bruce Dean, Black Bear’s co-founder and CEO. Dean will now serve as executive chairman for the 25-year-old restaurant chain.

Adams first joined Black Bear Diner in 2017 as chief financial officer. In March of 2019, Adams was promoted to president.

For nearly a decade before joining Black Bear Diner, Adams was CFO of American Blue Ribbon Holdings, a diversified foodservice company that included five restaurant concepts and a bakery operation. Before that, she was the vice president controller for VICORP Restaurant Group prior to its acquisition by ABRH, and the vice president of corporate accounting for First Data Corporation, a Fortune 500 global financial services company.

Guido joins Black Bear Diner from ABRH where he served as president for the Family Restaurant Division, which included such chains as Village Inn and Baker’s Square.

Dean co-founded Black Bear Diner in 1995 and served as co-president until 2016 when he was named CEO. The chain operates 138 locations across 14 states.