Dive Brief:
- Toppers Pizza founder and CEO Scott Gittrich has resigned from his position after leading the chain for over 30 years, the company wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive. He will assume the role of chairman of the board.
- Adam Oldenburg, vice president of operations at Toppers, has been promoted to CEO.
- Oldenburg has been with Toppers for over 17 years, starting out as a delivery driver and working his way up into various roles in management.
Dive Insight:
Given Oldenburg’s extensive experience with the brand, the company said he is “primed to lead the company into a new era of growth and development.” In addition to his experience at Toppers corporate, he is also part of an ownership group that owns five Toppers units and was recently awarded Franchisee of the Year.
“After several years of record performance, this leadership transition marks an exciting new chapter for Toppers,” Gittrich said. “Along with guiding the brand for over three decades, I have also had the privilege of preparing Adam to succeed me as CEO. With several years of record performance and an exceptional leadership team in place, the future of Toppers Pizza is incredibly promising.”
Under Gittrich’s leadership, Toppers grew from a single unit in Whitewater, Wisconsin to 70-plus units across 16 states. The brand’s expansion will continue, as the chain expects to surpass 100 units within three years. This year, it plans to open nine stores, which is three times the number of units it opened in 2022. The company is also attracting interest from franchisees, signing more deals in Q4 2022 than it had in the previous four years.
