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Tom E. DuPree, Jr.
Chairman and CEO of Avado Brands, Inc
March 21, 2002

As the founder of Avado Brands, Inc., Tom E. DuPree, Jr.'s leadership and long-term vision continue to guide the growth and evolution of one of the nation's leading multi-concept restaurant companies.

After a brief career in public accounting, Mr. DuPree entered the restaurant industry by establishing a Burger King franchise in 1978. He began the Company's casual dining restaurant business seven years later when he purchased the exclusive franchise rights to operate and develop Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants in South Carolina, going public in 1995. After adding other restaurant concepts, in 1997, Avado Brands announced plans to sell its Applebee's restaurants to focus on its faster growing and more profitable proprietary restaurant brands. Today, Avado Brands operates four core restaurant brands through decentralized entrepreneurial divisions to ensure each brand grows with a strong guest-focused approach to the business. The Company's propriety brands include Canyon Café, Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchen, Hops Restaurant × Bar × Brewery and McCormick & Schmick's.

In addition to his business interests, Mr. DuPree is committed to community involvement. In 1992, he founded the DuPree Foundation, which primarily focuses on public education in Georgia's Morgan County public schools as well as the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 1994, the DuPree Center for Entrepreneurship and New Venture Development was established at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. And, in 1996, Georgia Tech's School of Management was renamed the DuPree College of Management. Mr. DuPree sldo serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Georgia Tech Foundation and as a board member for the Church of Advent Foundation.