Frankfort Native Jessie Bray was recently named the #3 “Fast Casual” Executive Chef in the Country.
Frankfort High School graduate Jessie Bray began his restaurant career as a dishwasher and has risen through the ranks to become President and Chief Revenue Officer of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a minority-owned fast-casual restaurant franchise hoping to have 100 signed franchise locations by the end of 2025.
Bray graduated from Frankfort High School in 1992. Jessie worked at the Frankfort Movie Theater in the 1990’s and landed his first dishwashing job at a restaurant in 1994 at a Ponderosa restaurant in Terre Haute. He was also a ride operator for Old Indiana in the 1990’s. Recently Bray was selected by FastCasual.com as one of the top 25 Fast Casual restaurant executives. Bray was selected as #3 of the top 25.
Bray’s favorite food is Sushi. Asked about his favorite dining experience, Bray recalled a high-end Sushi Restaurant in New York featuring torched Sushi that left a memorable visit on his pallet. From his own creations, Bray is proud of his roasted pork tenderloin and also his pork tenderloin sandwiches. Bray is also fond of a 60 day aged Ribeye with 180 day aged provolone cheese with black truffle.
Bray has appeared on the Food Network program several times with Tony Romas with a series on doing BBQ ribs right.
Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, the company he currently serves as President, was also cited as the # 6 chain out of 100 on the list.
FastCasual.com reaches a global audience of fast casual professionals. According to its media kit, the site receives more than 830,000 industry professional visitors annually, has 31,000 email newsletter subscribers, 41,000 social media followers.
Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks https://www.bigdavesway.com is a rapidly expanding fast-casual restaurant chain founded by Derrick Hayes, a West Philadelphia native who launched the brand in 2014 from a 700 square-foot space inside a Shell gas station in Dunwoody, Georgia.
The restaurant chain is named in honor of Derrick’s late father, David Hayes, and has grown from its humble beginnings to become a nationally recognized franchise with locations across the Southeast-including Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina as well as prominent placements in major sports stadiums such as Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Orlando’s Kia Center.
Jessie Bray is the son of Camp Cullom’s Ranger “Hoppy” and Jeanie Bray. www.campcullom.com