franchise development

Irvine, Calif. — Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain for over 45 years, has named Steven Adyani as chief operations officer. With 30+ years of experience in the restaurant industry, including at Mountain Mike’s Pizza, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, The Cheesecake Factory and with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Adyani brings a wealth of operational expertise to the position. Most recently, he served as vice president of operations. Since joining Mountain Mike’s in 2020, Adyani has been instrumental in refining and optimizing brand operations across a thriving network of …

Franklin, Tenn. — CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., parent company of Carl’s Jr.® and Hardee’s®, has appointed Joe Guith as chief executive officer, effective immediately. He joins CKE from Church’s Texas Chicken. Guith arrives at CKE with extensive experience in franchising, restaurant management and the expansion of consumer brands. Previously, he served as CEO of Church’s Texas Chicken, where he successfully repositioned the brand and built stronger relationships with the franchisee community, leading to significant improvements in unit-level profitability, record sales and traffic growth. These changes led to expanding the Church’s …

Lexington, Ky. — A&W Restaurants, an all-American QSR with over 100 years of experience in business, has promoted Betsy Schmandt to chief executive officer and president of A&W Restaurants. Previously serving as the chief operating officer and president for the brand, Schmandt will inherit the responsibility from former CEO, Kevin Bazner, who will continue his tenure as chairman. Schmandt spent the last 18 months as COO and president of A&W Restaurants where she led day-to-day operations, ensuring efficiency, productivity and alignment with the businesses’ long term strategic goals. Prior to …

San Diego — Darin Harris, the chief executive officer of Jack in the Box Inc., has resigned and accepted a new position outside of the restaurant industry. The board of directors has appointed Jack in the Box’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, Lance Tucker, as interim principal executive officer, effective Feb. 24, 2025. Harris will remain as a consultant through March 14, 2025, to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Tucker has served as the company’s chief financial officer since Jan. 13, 2025. He previously served in this same …

Broomfield, Colo. — Noodles & Company has appointed Joe Christina as its president and chief operating officer. A seasoned restaurant executive with more than three decades of leadership experience, Christina will oversee operations and human resources and help further elevate the Noodles & Company experience for both guests and team members. “Joe is a highly accomplished leader with deep operational expertise and a proven track record of driving growth and innovation in the restaurant industry,” says Drew Madsen, chief executive officer at Noodles & Company. “His experience as both a …

Atlanta — Church’s Texas Chicken® has named Roland Gonzalez as its new chief executive officer. Gonzalez will lead the legendary brand’s next phase of global growth and evolution, having played a key role in its transformation over the last 2 years as chief operations officer. He succeeds Joe Guith, who was named to the post in 2022. Prior to joining Church’s Texas Chicken®, Gonzalez held senior leadership roles at major quick-service restaurant brands, including Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, where he implemented successful global growth strategies and delivered high-impact …