Name: Jaime Denney
New title: Chief operations officer, Blaze Pizza
Previous title: Vice president of franchise operations, Scooter’s Coffee
Denney brings over 25 years of restaurant experience to her new role, where she will oversee company and franchise operations and focus on improving speed, profitability and hospitality systemwide, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive. She has already begun working with Blaze executives and field teams to work on strategic priorities, the company said.
“[Denney’s] ability to build systems that scale, strengthen franchise relationships, and improve performance at every level of the business makes her an ideal fit for Blaze as we expand across the east coast,” Beto Guajardo, CEO of Blaze Pizza, said in a statement.
In her most recent position as VP of franchise operations at Scooter’s Coffee, Denney oversaw over 840 franchised locations with $720 million in system sales. During her two-year tenure at the coffee chain, the company opened 300 units in addition to improving drive-thru performance and “implemented scalable systems that drove a 9.1% year-over-year increase in topline sales,” the press release said.
She also helped lead an operational turnaround at Jamba as vice president of operations, and prior to that spent 14 years in various leadership positions at Starbucks.
Blaze Pizza has undertaken several changes in the past year to boost traffic. It updated its loyalty program in April through a partnership with Thanx to offer more personalized rewards, in-app exclusives and secret menus, and may eventually offer brand merchandise. Last year, it replaced its signature pizzas with five new pizzas as part of a larger menu overhaul.
The chain also moved its headquarters from Pasadena, California, to Atlanta, in preparation for unit growth along the East Coast. The chain has been refranching many of its units in California, and in March, sold 11 company-owned units to SoCal Blazers, which became the chain’s largest franchisee. SoCal Blazers previously agreed to develop 25 new units in Southern California, including four set to open this year.
