About Us

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Mike Lester is the CEO and owner of 

Walking Tall Brands, LLC and is a 30 year 

multi-unit senior executive veteran of the restaurant industry. 

Before founding Walking Tall Brands, Mike was with Melting Pot Restaurants for more than 12 years. As President, Mike ran a company with as many as 144 domestic and international Melting Pot locations. He was responsible for  overall operational, strategic, and financial aspects of the brand . In 2015 Melting Pot was selected as the Nation's top Casual Restaurant 

by consumers in Nation's Restaurant 

News Consumer Pick Awards.

Previously, Mike was with Outback Steakhouse for 13 years and developed and operated 15 

Outback Steakhouse locations as 

a Joint Venture Partner.  

Steve is the CFO and principle of Walking Tall Brands, LLC and is a 20 year finance veteran executive in the restaurant industry.

  Steve has previous experience with McDonalds. leading the finance function in multiple business units covering 1,700+ restaurants. Steve’s insight and outside the box thinking lead to consistent system economic growth. Prior to leading various business units at McDonald’s, Steve worked for McDonald’s corporate owned restaurants both buying/selling restaurants along with evaluating restaurant performance to optimize profitability. 

Steve started his career at Price Waterhouse Coopers and is a Certified Public Accountant.