Restaurant hires new vice president

Ozzie Garcia has been hired as vice president of operations for The Natural Café, a regional restaurant business with nine locations from Simi Valley to San Luis Obispo, including a local restaurant in the Moorpark Marketpace.

Garcia received his Bachelor of Arts from La Verne University in 1988, with a double major in business management and religion. He was employed with PepsiCo/Taco Bell from 1980 to 1992, where his selling programs increased profits at the unit level.

From 1992 to 2007 Garcia worked for La Salsa, most recently as director of franchise operations. He developed promotional initiatives that increased awareness and sales. Garcia also served as the San Diego co-op CFO for five years in the mid '90s.

"I am very excited about joining The Natural Café team," said Garcia. "It provides a fresh and healthy value product, a casual service environment and a consciousness of environmental responsibility."

Garcia plans to spur growth and maximize profits through new POS systems, training and marketing programs aimed at positioning the business for franchising.