Valerie Gritton is returning to her restaurant journalism roots after nearly 20 years, rejoining Connect Media as editor of QSRWeb and Pizza Marketplace, two of the restaurant industry’s leading sources for news, trends, and technology coverage. Gritton began her career as editor of FastCasual.com, QSRWeb.com and PizzaMarketplace.com before shifting into agency PR, media strategy, and corporate communications.
“Each chapter added to the editorial foundation I built two decades ago, and now I’m bringing all of that experience back to where it began,” Gritton said, whose career included a communications role at Yum! Brands.
The addition comes as Los Angeles-based Connect Media builds out its foodservice, retail, banking, and technology coverage, extending its reach beyond commercial real estate and capital markets. Founder, Daniel Ceniceros, serves as CEO of www. connect.media.
Cherryh Cansler, editor and publisher of FastCasual.com and VP of Connect Food, called Gritton one of her earliest mentors in the industry. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner to tackle the food and restaurant stories that matter most,” she said.
As editor of QSRWeb and Pizza Marketplace, Gritton will lead editorial coverage of the trends, technology and leadership shaping the quick service restaurant and pizza industries, from shifting consumer habits to the operational realities facing today’s restaurant brands.
“The media landscape has shifted. The restaurant industry has elevated. The consumer has evolved. Technology has advanced,” said Gritton, who many in the industry know as Valerie Killifer. “But the foundation of what makes us good at something doesn’t change, it just gets stronger, more refined and more instinctive.”
