Adam Goldberg grew up a “huge rock and roll fan” with a Kiss poster on his bedroom wall, so it’s a bit poetic that he is now the CEO of Rock & Brews, a casual dining chain founded in 2012 by Kiss' flashy front men Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, among others.

Goldberg, a restaurant veteran who co-founded Fresh Brothers Pizza, took the helm four years ago. He just so happened to live down the street from the Rock & Brews headquarters in California and knew the founding partners well – including Michael Zislis and Dave and Dell Furano – through community outreach efforts both of their restaurant brands facilitated. When Rock & Brews hit some stumbles, including a franchisee’s bankruptcy, the partners asked Goldberg to look at the books and he’s been running the company ever since.

It wasn’t necessarily a plan he anticipated. But there’s some serendipity at play he couldn’t ignore – the rock and roll, the location, the familiar faces, the restaurant industry.

Learn more about the concept and its plans for growth in the years ahead from Alicia Kelso.