Media Contact:
Jill Warren Lucas
(919) 245-5124
[email protected]
Southern Season expands leadership team with three new hires
Chapel Hill, North Carolina (June 1, 2016) – Southern Season today announced expansion of its leadership team
as the company continues to open new stores throughout the South. Additions include David Painter as general
manager of the flagship store in Chapel Hill; Erin McConville as general manager of the full-service store to open
this fall in the Buckhead community of Atlanta, Georgia; and Lee Frankstone as director of e-commerce.
“The combined retail and digital experience these leaders bring will position us for success in new markets and
enhance existing ones,” says CEO Clay Hamner. “And we will be prepared for additional growth in late summer,
when our new website comes online. Its robust digital store will enable customers to place orders from
anywhere and at any time, and will be especially effective in ordering and sending holiday gifts.”
David Painter started at the Chapel Hill store on Tuesday. He earned his degree in Hotel, Restaurant &
Institutional Management from the University of Delaware while serving as a crew chief for the Delaware Air
National Guard. He has since applied his business leadership skills to management positions ranging from a
popular gastropub to a major supplier of airline food, which produced more than 10,000 meals daily for 17
airlines, and specialty food at Trader Joe’s properties in Raleigh and Cary.
Most recently, Painter was general manager of a Chipotle store that opened in Cary in fall 2015. It quickly
became one of the chain’s most successful locations, following his pattern of increasing sales volume and
operational efficiencies.
Erin McConville started her role as general manager last week and helped to open the new Taste of Southern
Season store in downtown Charleston. She will work in Chapel Hill and assist at the Charleston and Mount
Pleasant, South Carolina, stores until the Buckhead location is ready for business this fall.
McConville has extensive experience with premium brands renowed for great customer service. She comes to us
from West Elm, where she served as general manager of the Alpharetta, Georgia, store since 2012. She
previously ran West Elm and West Elm Market stores in Brooklyn, New York, and managed the Stuart Weitzman
flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. She also managed stores for Gap and Anthropologie in Brooklyn,
Charlotte and Atlanta.
Lee Frankstone, who earned his MBA from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, joined our corporate office
in Chapel Hill on Tuesday. Since 2008, he was charged with leading the full redevelopment of Vietri’s digital
store and online marketing strategy. Digital sales grew 30 percent annually at the company during his tenure.
As Director of E-Commerce, he will help to better serve customer through a significantly enhanced online
presence. Digital sales will become an increasingly important aspect of Southern Season business as we launch
our new website in late summer. The platform also will support sales at our smaller Taste of Southern Season
stores, providing customers access to the goods and services available in our large stores.