Vice President, Real Estate

About the role

Earls is seeking a strategic leader to serve as Vice President, Real Estate, guiding the company’s real estate strategy across Canada and the United States. In this role, you will identify new market opportunities, secure premier locations, optimize the existing portfolio, and build the development pipeline to support Earls’ ambitious North American expansion. As a key member of the executive leadership team, you will collaborate with Design, Construction, and Operations teams to oversee every stage of the transaction lifecycle—from market intelligence and site selection to financial analysis, lease negotiations, renewals, portfolio management, and strategic landlord relationships. Your work will ensure every real estate decision aligns with Earls’ financial objectives, operational excellence, and premium brand positioning.

Responsibilities

• Lead Earls’ real estate strategy across Canada and the U.S., identifying high-potential markets and securing premier locations.
• Optimize the existing real estate portfolio to support growth and operational efficiency.
• Build and manage a robust development pipeline for future expansion.
• Oversee the full transaction lifecycle, including market intelligence, site selection, financial analysis, lease negotiations, and renewals.
• Manage strategic landlord relationships and portfolio performance.
• Collaborate with executive leadership, Design, Construction, and Operations teams to align real estate decisions with company goals.
• Present growth strategies to executive leadership and negotiate with institutional landlords.
• Travel extensively to build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including frequent engagement with the Vancouver head office.

Requirements

• Extensive experience as a real estate executive, with a proven track record in leasing and portfolio growth within high-growth hospitality or retail organizations.
• Experience with the U.S. real estate market is required; comparable experience from a real estate investor, owner, or brokerage will also be considered.
• Strong strategic vision and commercial judgment to identify opportunities ahead of competitors.
• Ability to negotiate with institutional landlords and present growth strategies to executive leadership.
• Comfort working collaboratively across departments and fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Willingness to travel significantly to support expansion efforts and stakeholder relationships.

Location

The position is ideally based in one of Earls’ current or potential markets, such as Vancouver, Toronto, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, or California.

About Earls

Founded over 40 years ago in Edmonton, Earls began as a single burger and beer joint with a vision to combine great food, genuine hospitality, and a welcoming atmosphere. Today, Earls is one of North America’s largest independent restaurant companies, with more than 70 locations and 7,000 employees across Canada and the U.S. Despite its growth, Earls remains a family-owned business driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, where relationships matter, decisions are made quickly, and leaders are empowered to think like owners. The company values collaboration over hierarchy, develops leaders from within, and believes the best ideas can come from anywhere. Earls is now embarking on its most ambitious growth chapter yet, with plans for historic North American expansion.