QSR June 2022

YOUNG LEADERS

“Load and Go,” it focuses on qual ity and speed of service out of the oven. The concept is going global. Essentially, just as much emphasis now centers on load ing pizza as when it comes out, gets boxed, and prepared to leave the store. It involves new posi tions and streamlined operations for drivers and Domino’s post bake team. Deliveries are getting to customers 5–10 minutes faster. Drivers are making more money. Teams are able to produce more with fewer workers. And jobs have become easier during peaks. LIZ Slobodian VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS FIREHOUSE SUBS AGE: 35 sibilities when she first joined the company. Nearly a decade later, this proactive approach continues to expand the scope and ability of )LUHKRXVH̵ V FRPPXQLFDWLRQV b Now the vice president of pub lic affairs, Slobodian has built an internal team of 10, guided the brand’s media coverage, liaised with government affairs, and served as the point person on the crisis management team—a responsibility that has demanded much of her time over the past two years. “I’m proud to have built a completely internal PR team that never rests on our laurels as we service a franchise community of more than 400 small business owners every day,” she says. “As a storyteller and communications leader, I have the best job in the world: telling the Firehouse Subs story while being an advocate for our brand and each of my team members.” Most recently, Slobodian man aged all internal and external communications as Restaurant As the first dedicated public relations manager at Firehouse Subs, Liz Slobodian was essen tially tasked with shaping her own role and respon

Brands International completed its acquisition of the sub chain. SALEM Najjar CEO SERVE HOSPITALITY GROUP AGE: 32 Salem Najjar came to the res taurant world

Zone. As real estate manager for the West Coast, Bloom works with franchisees in some of the coun try’s toughest markets, including Los Angeles and Orange County. “It was [and still] is incredibly difficult to open new restaurants during the pandemic,” says Den nis Watts, vice president of real estate for Capriotti’s and Wing Zone. “Sara’s calm and persis tent approach was successful in breaking down roadblocks and helping us succeed.” He adds that under Bloom’s leadership, sales at new stores have outpaced legacy units by 25 percent. “I struggled through out most of my life to find a field to specialize in, but I have always been interested in placemaking, city planning, and land and space development, so the real estate role has felt like a natural fit,” Bloom says. “I am proud to have achieved this growth while also becoming a mother to my son who was born in July 2020.” BRETT Nestadt & SETH Cohen COFOUNDERS SWEETFIN AGES: 33 AND 34

sector might appear, the lessons from that time have proved invalu able in her role of vice president of interactive marketing. “During my time at McFarlane Toys, I was ‘on the ground’ so to speak, activating marketing strat egies to cultivate that customer and brand connection/loyalty,” she says. “Tactics like influencer outreach, licensor promotions, real-time social engagement, and our own version of a loyalty pro gram really gave me hands-on experience in all digital aspects.” After a brief pause on market ing at the start of the pandemic, Kahala Brands, under Maxedon’s direction, pivoted to digital media, with that budgeting increasing 230 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year. The increased investment allowed its brands to not only strengthen customer ties but also glean data insights; both continue to pay dividends. KYRA Butler TRAINER JPC PIZZA (Domino’s Franchisee) AGE: 33 Kyra Butler’s rapidly ascending Domino’s career began as a deliv ery driver at 18. After a five-year hiatus, she returned as GM, opened new locations, and was soon pro moted to supervisor, where she grew her store count to 12 loca tions. Butler also served as the company’s trainer for the past two years, and her oversight includes 45 restaurants today. Recently, there’s been a game changing innovation. Along with Ryan Raymond (one of the GMs Butler supervises), Jayden Casev, and Syndney Boone, and the help of the franchise orga nization, she helped pioneer an entirely new system in 2021 for Domino’s that’s been adopted as operating procedure. Called

with more finan cial savvy than most. He spent the early years of his career as a business tax consultant

at the consultancy Deloitte, and that knowledge proved a major boon when he became a Tropical Smoothie franchisee in 2015. His company, SERVE Hospitality Group, has since grown to 14 units (six of which opened within the last two years), and an additional 19 stores are already in the pipeline. On aver age, his cafes turn out EBITDA margins of 26.4 percent. But while SERVE Hospitality benefits from Najjar’s analytical mindset, the restaurant indus try has changed the way he approaches business. “Since getting into franchis ing, I’ve learned that trusting your gut is an important part of lead ership,” he says. “When making decisions both big and small, it’s good to have all the data, but how you feel about a particular out come should factor into your decision as well.” SARA Bloom REAL ESTATE MANAGER CAPRIOTTI’S AND WING ZONE AGE: 32 Even before

The film industry and mort gage loan sector hardly seem like ideal breeding ground for fast casual success, but that’s exactly how poke concept Sweetfin got its start. Back in 2015, cofound ers Brett Nestadt and Seth Cohen (now CEO and president, respec tively) saw an untapped market for premium raw fish in a more relaxed setting. As Cohen points out, full-service sushi restau rants could be found on just about

the pandemic, the real estate market had become more cutthroat, and it’s only inten sified since then. That’s what makes

Sara Bloom’s role so invaluable to sister brands Capriotti’s and Wing

KYRA BUTLER: © HATHAM AL SHABIBI, FIREHOUSE SUBS, SALEM NAJJAR: SERVE HOSPITALITY GROUP, SARA BLOOM: PHOTOS 4 THE PEOPLE, SWEETFIN (2)

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JUNE 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com

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