It’s a Freddy’s restaurant reunion of sorts, more than a decade in the making
It’s a Wichita restaurant reunion more than a decade in the making.
On Tuesday, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers announced that longtime Wichita restaurateur Les Padzensky had joined the staff of Epoch Development, a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers franchise group with 16 restaurants throughout Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Padzensky will work in operations management.
Padzensky had been employed for the past 11 years as vice president of food and beverage with Warren Theatres. But that job recently ended.
His new job gets him back on the Freddy’s Frozen Custard team. Before he started with Warren Theatres, Padzensky worked for Freddy’s Frozen Custard co-founders Scott Redler, Bill Simon and Randy Simon as they developed the chain, which has grown into a nationwide operation.
People might also recognize Padzensky from his days with Timberline, a Wichita-based restaurant venture he partnered with Redler and Bill Simon on in the late 1990s — before Freddy’s was ever a thing.
Padzensky started his restaurant career at age 15 and earned a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management at the University of Denver. He’s been in the business for 36 years and has also worked as a manager at restaurants like Piccadilly. He’s also been active with the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association.
Freddy’s was started in Wichita in 2002 and now has nearly 400 U.S. locations in 32 states.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
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