QSR June 2022

YOUNG LEADERS

expanded to 110 units across North America and locked in 260 signed contracts for future locations. “Teriyaki Madness has helped me grow,” Satriana says. “We get to express who we truly are each and every day, and that is impor WDQW LQ WKH RIILFH VHWWLQJ ̹ b Even during the pandemic, when many restaurants were struggling to keep the lights on, Satriana’s leadership helped guide Teriyaki Madness through various challenges, resulting in 30 new openings. Over the course of her tenure, the company has expanded into seven new states DQG JURZQ E\ SHUFHQW b CHRIS Medhurst CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER DISTRICT TACO AGE: 34 Chris Medhurst has been with Dis trict Taco for a dozen years. Shortly after the brand’s inception, he was hired as the first general manager

hurst managed the company’s financial operations, doing every thing from negotiating with landlords and vendors to utilizing government assistance pro grams. Not only did all locations stay open, but District Taco was also able to keep its employees on payroll with benefits for its sala ried staff and much of its hourly workers. NINA Blumenstock ASSISTANT CONTROLLER JERSEY MIKE’S FRANCHISE SYSTEMS INC. AGE: 28 Unlike many in

tant controller, Blumenstock has managed the financing for system wide store retrofits—a $125 million investment for the brand. She is also the sole preparer of financial statements and reporting require ments for Jersey Mike’s quarterly and annual reports and works directly with the company’s chief ILQDQFLDO RIILFHU :DOWHU 7RPEV b “When I talked with Wal ter Tombs about joining Jersey Mike’s, he said, ‘Trust me.’ I am grateful that I did,” Blumenstock says. “It blows my mind how much my life has changed just within the past two years.” Indeed, the past two years have been pivotal for Blumen stock on both a professional and personal level. At the height of COVID, she helped create finan cial projections to guide Jersey Mike’s through months of uncer tainty and assisted franchisees with the Paycheck Protection Program. She also became a first-time mom.

and has been climbing the ranks ever since as it grew to 15 loca tions in the D.C. metropolitan area and Philadelphia. Last year, District Taco inked its first franchise deal, with plans to open 150 units over WKH QH[W WKUHH \HDUV b “Working for District Taco has been amazing. They’ve given me more responsibility than I ever dreamed of, and I feel like I’m really able to make a difference for my coworkers and our custom ers,” Medhurst says. During the pandemic, Med

foodservice, Nina Blumen stock didn’t come up in the

restaurant world. Armed with a degree in accounting, she spent two years at the consultancy Ernst & Young before moving over to Jersey Mike’s in 2017. As the assis

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DISTRICT TACO, JERSEY MIKE’S FRANCHISE SYSTEMS INC.

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JUNE 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com