EXECUTIVE CONNECTION

In This Month's Issue:

• Corner Office Conversations: Josh Kern, CEO of Snooze
• Wray Executive Search Attending the Prosper Accelerate Conference
• Restaurant Executive Movements
• Restaurant Financials
• The 18-Month Problem
• Follow Wray Executive Search on LinkedIn
• Still Waiting for the Turn
• New Opportunities
• National Restaurant Association Industry Jobs Report

Corner Office Conversations

Featuring Josh Kern, CEO of Snooze

by Kevin Stockslager, Managing Partner, Wray Executive Search

It's been almost a year at Snooze. When you first started thinking about the role and stepped into Snooze, what attracted you to the opportunity, and what did you see in the brand that made you say, this is the next great step for me?

The opportunity was certainly the vibrancy of what Snooze was all about. Having been in Denver for so long, I always knew the brand and that it was a bit quirky—a lot of energy, really passionate about food, and always putting a little twist on what it was doing. I liked the modernity of the brand itself. Coming out of the marketing world, I knew there was so much to it.



I was very impressed that a brand that was only 20 years old had some serious firepower when it came to awareness. It outpunched its weight class in terms of how many people knew Snooze and its ability to break out of its home market. For restaurant concepts, that's incredibly difficult—to have the staying power to grow out of a home market and then succeed in different markets. It's doing great in San Diego, Austin, Nashville and Charlotte. That impressed me. I knew it could grow.

Wray Executive Search is Attending the Prosper Accelerate Conference

We look forward to connecting with everyone in Dallas October 28th-30th at another fantastic industry event!

Restaurant Executive Movements - September 2026

Einstein Bros. Bagels Expands C-Suite, Cementing Category Leadership

GoTo Foods Names Lucy Brady President of Jamba®, Expands Leadership Across Portfolio

Pepper Lunch North America CEO Troy Hooper to Transition to Strategic Advisor to the Board

The Wendy's Company Names Tariq Hassan Chief Marketing and Customer Growth Officer

Blaze Pizza Names Tracy Stockard Chief Marketing Officer

Jack in the Box Inc. Appoints Taylor Montgomery as President

Pollo Tropical owner secures $325M investment

Jersey Mike’s Reports Second Quarter Financial Results

Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital

Bonchon Acquired by Minor Food and Serruya Private Equity

By Ray Kelley, Managing Partner, Wray Executive Search

Why Companies Hire Executives for the Business They Have—Not the Business They're Building

Private equity investors routinely underwrite businesses based on their future state. An investment thesis may assume a restaurant company will double its unit count, accelerate franchising, expand geographically, complete acquisitions, improve margins, or become significantly more institutionalized during the hold period.

Executive hiring, however, often remains anchored to the present.

A company identifies its current problems, defines a position around those problems, and searches for an executive who has successfully solved similar challenges before. That approach is logical, and often effective. The problem emerges when the business changes faster than the leadership profile.

At Wray Executive Search, we’re passionate about building leadership teams that drive real impact across the restaurant, hospitality, and franchising industries.

If you’re interested in executive search insights, leadership stories, industry trends, and updates on executive movements, I encourage you to follow our Wray Executive Search LinkedIn page.

We’re proud to partner with innovative brands and exceptional leaders, and we’d love for you to be part of the conversation.

By John Gordon, Pacific Management Consulting

We have passed through summer and Labor Day and now into early fall. Not a surprise but the restaurant industry has not turned, that magical wording usually noting positive momentum. By my count there are 26 macro and micro influences that are very difficult to offset completely. Average hourly earnings were flat in 2025 and down .3 percent over the last year. Along with consumer goods, inflation is still underway. That is the macro hole that we will have to dig out of.

To be sure, the restaurant industry has always been dynamic; restaurants are a key part of socialization, food satisfaction and convenance. We are not endangered but do go through waves.

One clear development that our friend John Hamburger John Hamburger [founder of Restaurant Finance and Development Conference and the useful Restaurant Finance Monitor coming up soon] was right that the era of very cheap money was over in 2022. Look at the SOFR rate long term trend—falling and then und6er 1% for 2 years; with then a jump up to 5.3% late 2023. Restaurant operators, especially franchisees  say the increases hurt greatly. But rates have been much higher in the pre 2000 era. That implies that restaurant break-even has risen.

COO - Mountain West

COO - Southwest

VP Operations - Midwest

Director of Operations - Arkansas

Check out the latest Industry Jobs Report from the National Restaurant Association

Same-store sales and customer traffic

Restaurant operators reported mixed sales and traffic results in June

Restaurant operators reported a net increase in same-store sales in June, with results similar to April and May. 

Fifty-one percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose between June 2025 and June 2026, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That followed readings of 48% in April and 50% in May. 

Thirty-one percent of restaurant operators said their sales declined in June.