Chicago — Potbelly Corporation has appointed Larry Strain as its chief development officer (CDO) effective immediately. Potbelly is contracting with Restaurant Development Experts (RDE), LLC in connection with Strain’s engagement for this role and Bob Wright, president and CEO of Potbelly, will have oversight responsibility for him. Strain will oversee four key areas of shop development including Corporate Development Services, Franchise Sales & Development, Brokerage Services & Tenant Representation, and Strategic & Trade Area Level Market Planning.
“The addition of Larry and his wealth of experience in real estate and franchise development is critical in advancing Potbelly to our next phase of growth,” Wright says. “Larry is a highly regarded retail development and business strategist with the necessary background to advance Potbelly in the next stage of our ‘Traffic-Driven’ Profitability Strategic Plan. I could not be more excited to welcome him to our executive team.”
Strain is a founding partner of RDE, LLC and creator of a revolutionary market intelligence platform that provides retailers with customized growth and optimization plans. Prior to RDE, he was the CDO for INQUE and senior vice president of real estate & store development for Global Partners, LP. Previously, Strain held real estate and store development roles with McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Brands and Starbucks.
Potbelly Corporation is a neighborhood sandwich concept. Since opening its first shop in Chicago in 1977, Potbelly has expanded to approximately 400 company-owned shops in the United States. Additionally, Potbelly franchisees operate over 40 shops in the United States. For more information, visit www.potbelly.com.
SOURCE: Potbelly Corporation