Name: Patrick Coelho
New title: SVP of development, Papa Johns
Previous title: Head of International, Scooter’s Coffee
Coelho, who has almost a decade of restaurant experience, joins Papa Johns in the newly created role of SVP of development effective Monday, the company said in a press release. In this position, he will oversee the company’s North American restaurant real estate development activities. That role will include advancing the chain’s development goals and working with senior leadership on the company’s North America franchise development strategic plan, according to the press release. He will report to Amanda Clark, chief international and development officer at Papa Johns.
Patrick Coelho’s restaurant resume:
- February 2023 - July 2023: Head of international, Scooter’s Coffee
- May 2022 - February 2023: Chief development officer, Scooter’s Coffee
- March 2019 - 2022: Head of development, Americas, Burger King
- March 2018 - March 2019: Head of finance, North America, Burger King
- September 2014 - March 2018: Director, South and Central America, Burger King
Past wins: In his most recent role, Coelho “developed and executed an aggressive, international expansion strategy for Scooter’s Coffee,” according to the press release. Prior to that, he spent eight years in various positions at Burger King, updating Burger King’s North American operations.
What’s on Coelho’s plate: Since 2021, when the chain signed its largest domestic franchisee agreement with Sun Holdings, Papa Johns has been on a huge growth push. That deal would lead to the opening of 100 units in high-growth markets in Texas by 2029. Despite these big agreements and improved unit economics in the last four years in North America, CEO Rob Lynch said during a May earnings call that the company isn’t quite where it wants to be with domestic growth.
“To help expedite development within the United States, we are partnering with franchisees on providing construction services, including permitting, architectural designs and general contractor management,” Lynch said. “This allows our franchisees to lower friction points and costs throughout the construction process by utilizing our in-house expertise and leveraging the scale of the Papa Johns system.”
Lynch said franchisees have responded well to the program so far and he anticipates more operators will take advantage of this program in the future.
The company also rolled out a store design last year that enables contactless ordering and self-service pickup and is more efficient to build. The restaurant model also allows staff to complete orders more quickly during peak times, according to Business Insider. Papa Johns’ new design will be used in all future restaurants, Lynch said.
