John Martin Joins Board of Easyriders

John E. Martin, chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo’s Casual Dining division--and a longtime motorcycle rider--has a new bike to ride.

Martin, who earlier had served as chairman of Irvine-based Taco Bell, has joined Easyriders Cafe’s board of directors. The company, which recently began trading on Nasdaq’s Bulletin Board, operates one restaurant in Fresno and has announced plans to build restaurants in Los Angeles and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The chain hopes to capitalize on what executives call “the universal appeal” of motorcycling. It takes its name from Easyriders, a lifestyle magazine for cyclists. It will serve a varied menu and will have a retail section where motorcyclists can buy apparel and accessories. Restaurants with a retail section are planned in Sturgis, S.D., and two unidentified locations.

Martin, who has been a motorcycle buff for more than 20 years, said the proposed chain “has carefully identified its target market and built its initial restaurant in Fresno with great attention to the operational details that make a restaurant successful.”

Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com.