Founders

Scott D. Zepp

Co-founder and Director

Raised in Pensacola, Florida, Scott Zepp taught at Pensacola Catholic High School, where he was assistant baseball coach to the 2003 State Champions. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan had a life altering impact on Mr. Zepp as it destroyed his home on Pensacola Beach. He cashed in his 401K and moved to Tampa, where he reconnected with long-time friend Matt LaFon. In November of 2005, Mr. Zepp co-owned and operated at a retail shop in Clearwater, FL selling premium beer from across the globe. Unable to ignore the increasing popularity of world class beer among his customers, he partnered with Mr. LaFon to develop World of Beer. Investing every last penny they had Mr. Zepp and Mr. LaFon opened the doors to World of Beer in the winter of 2007.

Matthew L. LaFon

Co-founder and Director  

One of World of Beer’s original co-founders, Mr. LaFon has served as Vice President of Franchise Development and a member of the board of directors since our inception. No stranger to the industry, he is also co-founder and CEO of Blend, an upscale wine and martini lounge located in Tampa, Florida. Previously, Mr. LaFon was co-founder and former COO of Carillon Wine & Spirits – a beer, wine and liquor establishment in St. Petersburg, Florida. From November 2003 to June 2007, he served as Regional Manager of Ritz Safety, Inc., in Tampa, Florida, where he was primarily responsible for sales, marketing and customer relations. From October 2002 to November 2003, Mr. LaFon was a Manufacturer Representative for Davis Marketing, Inc. in Tampa, Florida. He has been married to his wife, Stacy, for six years and has both a daughter and son, Lauren and Evan. 

 

 

Officers

Benjamin P. Novello

Chief Executive Officer and Director

A 25-year industry veteran and former president of Outback Steakhouse, Mr. Novello has planned and developed several hundred successful restaurant locations around the country. Having direct responsibility for every aspect of a multi-billion dollar brand, he has experience in supporting a diverse team of professionals with result-oriented strategies. During his 15+ years at Outback Steakhouse International (OSI) he created and implemented innumerable successful growth and quality initiatives. The rollout of the ubiquitous restaurant pager systems, Outback’s pioneering Curbside Take Away, selection materials, assessment programs and other industry changing innovations were all implemented under Mr. Novello’s direction and responsibility. Under his stewardship, Curbside Take Away went from 0.4% of sales to over 12.5% of sales or $280,000,000 annually. In 2010 Mr. Novello acquired an interest in World of Beer Franchising, Inc. the franchisor of World of Beer craft beer taverns. Mr. Novello serves as CEO of World of Beer Franchising and brings his industry insight, human resource capital, and development knowledge to a franchise system with robust expansion plans and continued success. Mr. Novello received a BS from Arizona State University and is currently a Trustee at Bethune-Cookman University. Married for 16 years, Mr. Novello and his wife, Beth, have three children and reside in Tampa, Florida.
 

James R. Pollard

Executive Vice President of Franchise Operations and Director

Mr. Pollard is a former Regional Joint Venture Partner for Outback Steakhouse, Inc., responsible for introducing and developing the Outback brand in both southeast and west coast Florida markets. During Mr. Pollard’s 19-year tenure with the organization, his vast responsibilities included: site identification and development, management and recruiting, selection and retention, advertising and marketing, planning and implementation, daily execution of multi-location operations, customer satisfaction tracking, and financial oversight of this highly profitable territory. Mr. Pollard developed this business into a $200+ million enterprise – and was consistently one of the highest performers in the organization. Upon his retirement from Outback Steakhouse he was the first recipient of an award named in his honor, The Jim Pollard “Putting People First” Award; which is now an annual award presented to the top performing Area Manager in the company. Mr. Pollard acquired an interest in World of Beer with Mr. Novello in 2010. He currently serves as EVP of Franchise Operations, working directly with our Franchise Partners on operational excellence and delivery of the World of Beer system.