Former Target exec to head up grocery chain

Houston-based Fiesta Mart has appointed a retail veteran as its new chief executive.



The Hispanic grocery store chain named Sid Keswani as CEO, effective August 9, 2017. He replaced outgoing chief executive Mike Byars.



Keswani previously served 19 years at Target Corp., rising to the rank of senior VP. He went on to serve as senior VP of operations for Susser Holdings, which operates over 625 convenience stores. While at Susser, Keswani helped add over 125 additional stores to the portfolio via acquisitions and new store growth in just 18 months. For the past three years, Keswani served as the COO of Aspen Heights, a real estate development firm in Austin, Texas.



“We are very excited that Sid is joining Fiesta at this time in our growth strategy,” Ken Brotman, managing partner at ACON Investments, said in a statement. “He brings a great deal of relevant experience and skills to Fiesta as we look forward to our next phase of growth.”



Fiesta Mart operates 68 stores in the Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. The company is owned by private equity firm Acon Investments, which acquired it from Fiesta's family owners in April 2015.