For the past 15 years, I've run development for restaurant brands moving from regional to national. Across roles at Chamberlain Advisory, CHAGEE, Hart House, &pizza, Chipotle, and CBRE, I've personally led 250+ restaurant openings, managed $40M+ in development budgets, secured $50M+ in funding pipelines, and helped clients sidestep $55M+ in legal exposure.

 

The work is detail-heavy and the stakes are real. That's what makes it interesting.

 

Chamberlain Advisory · Founder · 2024 – Present

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I launched Chamberlain Advisory to bring senior development leadership to emerging restaurant brands at the exact moment they need it most, usually a year or two before they can hire a full-time CDO. I work with founders and CEOs on site selection, market strategy, lease negotiation, underwriting standards, capital partner introductions, and the development pipeline that turns a proven concept into a well-known brand.

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I take on a small number of fractional CDO clients at a time. The rest of the work runs through strategic assessments, growth sprints, and ongoing advisory retainers.

 

CHAGEE · Head of Business Development & Real Estate, North America · 2026

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I joined CHAGEE during a period of rapid US expansion and built the development systems the team needed to keep growing.

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• Streamlined development processes; opened 6 new locations on time and on budget in my first 90 days

• Built a transaction risk-scoring framework that surfaced $7.8M in potential development savings in Q1 alone

• Standardized the Real Estate Committee process to bring data and objective criteria into capital allocation decisions

• Partnered with brokers on six market tours and identified 27 new prospective locations for the 2027 pipeline

 

Hart House · Chief Development Officer · 2022 – 2024

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I was the first development hire and built the function from the ground up. In under two years, I sourced and secured 80+ sites across multiple markets, building the foundation of a projected $100M+ in annual revenue.

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• Managed $15M+ in growth budgets

• Set the underwriting standard at 35%+ cash-on-cash returns

• Partnered with investors to secure $5M+ in multi-year development funding

• Led cross-functional teams across real estate, design, construction, and facilities

 

&pizza · Vice President of Development · 2018 – 2022

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I joined &pizza when the brand had 29 operating shops. By the time I left, we had a secured pipeline of 120+ locations and a development team built to execute it. I ran site selection, market strategy, LOI and lease negotiation, design, construction, facilities, and the handoff to operations, totaling 25+ new shops per year for four consecutive years.

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• Exceeded development transaction targets by an average of 175%

• Contributed to $8M in annual EBITDA growth

• Increased AUV by $400K through portfolio optimization and strategic site placement

 

Chipotle Mexican Grill · Real Estate Manager · 2015 – 2018

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I led market strategy and site acquisition for a 16-million-resident territory in the Northeast during one of Chipotle's biggest growth periods, when the company was opening 360+ new restaurants nationally each year.

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• Negotiated LOIs and leases for a pipeline of 130+ future locations in four years

• Lifted AUV in my territory by $500K within three years through sales regression coupled with local market expertise

• Delivered $10M+ in cost savings by negotiating landlord contributions, reducing build-out costs by 8%, and tightening construction timelines

 

CBRE · Associate Broker, Retail Services · 2013 – 2015

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I started in real estate at CBRE in the DC Metro market on the retail team, despite senior brokers telling me retail was a dead end. I supported leasing on 2.3M+ sq. ft. of industrial, office, mixed-use, and lifestyle properties, representing national and regional retail tenants and landlords on site selection, demographic analysis, and expansion strategy.

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Clients included Beacon Capital Partners, Burger King, Starbucks, ALDO, VITAL Climbing Gym, Fleet Feet Sports, Golden Corral, and One Orange.

 

Education

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Bachelor of Science, Marketing & Management — Clemson University, Magna Cum Laude.

 

Why?​

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I started Chamberlain Advisory because emerging restaurant brands don't need another consultant. They need someone who has successfully grown a brand from 10 locations to 150, who knows what to look for, what to walk away from, and what to push back on when it matters most.

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The founders I'm built for reach out at the same moment: they've raised, they're committed to a plan, and the development function isn't yet big enough to deliver it. I step in as their head of development before they can afford a full-time one, and I stay until they can.

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What keeps me in this work is that the impact is real and measurable. Every site we open creates jobs in a community to serve and a guest experience that earns repeat visits and loyalty. The data tells us objectively, and in real time, what's working and what isn't, informing every future decision to become more precise than the last. Development isn't an abstraction. It's the part of the business where art meets science, and strategy meets the street, creating impact that matters.

Written by: Patrick Chamberlain, Founder