Sept. 27, 2024
Throughout my 100-day onboarding journey, I have had the privilege to travel all over the country and meet with so many great people in our restaurant, franchise, and supplier communities. For the past two weeks, I spent a lot of time focused on our Quality Control Center and Restaurant Support Center in Georgia.
I was amazed to see how our Quality Control Centers operate. From making our original fresh, never-frozen dough, to managing our ingredients, to packing our trucks for deliveries to each restaurant twice a week, it is an incredible operation with folks that love the brand and what they do. I felt it in both Quality Control Centers in Georgia and Kentucky and appreciate the team's vision, passion and commitment to servicing our restaurants.
I also welcomed Kevin Vasconi onto our team as our new Chief Digital and Technology Officer. Having worked with him in the past I can say that we have one of the best in the industry joining us for a great ride. He is not only a fantastic technologist, but a great business leader with a strong eye for talent and how to develop them. It was fun to see the excitement of his announcement from the teams in Louisville, Atlanta and across the franchise system. In Atlanta, we hosted a coffee hour, and a lunch in Louisville, to introduce Kevin to all the corporate team members, and it was great for me to interact with the team and hear their passion for the opportunities ahead at Papa Johns.
At our quarterly Franchisee Advisory Council (FAC) meeting, I got to spend some quality time with our franchise community. I appreciate their passion and commitment to the brand and their partnership on working together to find solutions to regain our sales momentum and drive long-term profitable growth for the system. I'm thankful for the open, honest and transparent discussions we had to find a way to win together. It was also special to see our team in action...the prep, the work, the thinking, and the dialogue in the committee meetings and the broader FAC meeting made me feel very proud. Meeting franchisees like Joe Johnson, who serves on both the FAC and the board of The Papa Johns Foundation, has also allowed me to see the amazing work we are doing to invest back into the communities we serve.
I ended the week by attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 2024 National Youth of the Year celebration, which was hosted in Atlanta this year, and is supported by The Papa Johns Foundation. The stories shared by each of the six National Youth of the Year finalists were inspiring, energizing and gave me great hope that the next generation of leaders will continue to make our country special. The highlight of the night for me, beyond hearing from the finalists, was speaking with the newly-named 2024-25 National Youth of the Year, Nico. Nico attended an event at our Atlanta Restaurant Support Center earlier this year when we hosted the Southeast Youth of the Year finalists, and we are proud to be a part of his journey. I was pleased to hear the after-party snack for the finalists was a Papa Johns delivery to their hotel!
I feel extremely grateful to be a part of this dynamic pizza company supporting the journey to be the best pizza makers in every community that we serve. There are so many factors that go into building a strong brand. Through our ongoing work collaborating with our Franchisees, building out a strong and passionate team, and reinvesting in our communities, Papa Johns is on the right track! Though my time at Papa Johns has just begun, I can already tell that we have something truly special here. Looking forward to what lies ahead on this journey, and I hope to see you next time on Todd’s Take!
