Crumbl Cookies
Graciela Chadwick, a former executive at Chick-fil-A, has taken the role of COO at Crumbl Cookies. In her new position, Chadwick will focus on achieving operational excellence for the brand while bolstering franchise partner success. “Graciela has proven experience in helping some of the
strongest brands in the world optimize operations and plan strategically for success,” said Jason McGowan, CEO of Crumbl Cookies. “As a franchise with nearly 600 locations across the country, consistent and smooth operational processes are critical to success at Crumbl Cookies – we can’t wait to see how Graciela takes us to the next level!” Hailing from Mexico City, Chadwick’s first opportunity in the states was with KPMG where she assisted clients in streamlining processes through automation and optimization. She took her expertise to Burger King Corporation, where she implemented the back-office system overhaul for the 610 corporate-owned restaurants. She later moved to the operations department, where she implemented key strategic initiatives. In 2008, Chadwick joined the Chick-fil-A Corporation and has been in a myriad of roles for the last 13 years. “Our society needs more face-to-face time with family and friends. There is no better time than now for a brand to help everyone make meaningful connections with those they love,” said Chadwick. “I think Crumbl is at the intersection of fun, care, and relationship building – their mission is literally to bring friends and family together over a box of the best cookies in the world! I am eager to help them in bringing that vision to fruition.”
Farmer Boys Farmer Boys, a farm fresh fast casual concept, hired restaurant industry and finance veteran Joseph Ortiz to serve as its new vice president of finance and accounting. In this position, Ortiz is responsible for leading the finance and accounting teams through proactive coaching and mentorship, creative strategies, and improved workflow.
“I am excited to join Farmer Boys, an established, yet
growing brand, known and respected in the industry for its best-in-class service and quality food,” Ortiz said. “I look forward to providing both strategic and tactical guidance to support Farmer Boys’ finance and accounting teams, growth model, and people development plans.” Ortiz brings more than 14 years of finance, strategy and
organizational leadership experience, much of which has been within the quick-service restaurant industry. He most recently held the position of director of finance at Bakemark and has also led successful teams at CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc., BJ’s Restaurants, YUM! Brands, and Panda Restaurant Group. “Joseph has a wide variety of experience working in the
restaurant industry with both large and mid-sized companies, and he brings a wealth of financial, organizational, and leadership skills that we know will benefit the Farmer Boys brand and team members immensely,” said David Wetzel, president of Farmer Boys.
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Fuzzy’s Taco Shop announced Chef Josh Diekman as director of culinary and executive chef of the growing taco shop brand, which has locations in 18 states. Diekman has been the creative force behind Fuzzy’s Taco
Shop’s successful and innovative limited-time offerings since 2018 before joining the brand full-time earlier this year. Before joining Fuzzy’s, he served as corporate executive chef for Land O‘Lakes and Nestlé.
“Chef Josh has been an incredible asset to us, and we are excited to have him as a full-time part of the Fuzzy’s family as we continue to put our focus on food first,” Fuzzy’s Taco CEO Paul Damico said. “His understanding of restaurant operations along with his ability to monitor culinary trends and keep Fuzzy’s Taco Shop at the forefront of what is popular with our guests has been extremely valuable to us.” The Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Executive Chef holds various certifications including Worldchefs Certified Master Chef, American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Administrator.
Diekman has enjoyed diving into the entire culinary
program at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in his new role. “The exciting part of the Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is the amount of scratch cooking that happens in our kitchens every day, which gives me an opportunity to be unapologetically creative,” Diekman said. “My initial focus is to streamline the menu to allow for easier execution as we expand, and to create back-of-house processes to allow for consistency across all locations.”
Taco John’s Taco John’s selected industry veteran Mark Kocer as its new COO. He will oversee the chain’s day-to-day operations, assist with its expansion plans and technological upgrades and serve as a mentor to leaders within the brand and franchise system. Kocer brings nearly 30 years of restaurant industry experience and has experience working with large, successful brands such as Arby’s, KFC and PepsiCo. “We are thrilled to add a quality person and leader like Mark to our executive leadership team,” said Taco John’s President and CEO Jim Creel. “We take pride in the huge connection we have with our guests, and Mark, having grown up with our brand, will help us take that bond to the next level. His knowledge and expertise in various areas of the industry will be an asset to our internal team and franchisees.” During his nearly 20-year career with Arby’s, Kocer served in various leadership roles including area supervisor, director of operations and senior director of operations. He eliminated redundancies, helped streamline the brand’s performance scorecard from 16 to nine initiatives, created and developed a national catering program and oversaw the implementation of several new technologies and operational processes. “Working for Taco John’s is a dream come true for me, as
it’s a brand I have always loved and kept up with through the years,” said Kocer. “The opportunity to help the brand keep expanding while making our operations as efficient as possible is a challenge I look forward to meeting.”
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