Dive Brief:
- Jack in the Box Chief Financial Officer Brian Scott is resigning his post at the company to take a job outside the restaurant industry, the company said Thursday.
- Scott will be replaced on an interim basis by Dawn Hooper, the company’s SVP and controller, on Nov. 1. Hooper will act as finance chief until a permanent replacement has been found.
- Scott will remain with the company until Nov. 20 to ensure a smooth transition.
Dive Insight:
Hooper, a 24-year veteran of the company, will serve as interim CFO for a third time since 2020, as Jack in the Box has struggled to find a long-term CFO. Hooper held the interim post in 2020 following Lance Tucker’s resignation, then again in 2023 after Tim Mullany left the company.
“I am committed to finding an excellent financial leader to be a part of the transformation we have been pursuing, and the ambition we have for our two brands,” CEO Darin Harris said.
Jack in the Box has been pushing to sign new, multi-unit franchising deals outside of its core territories. In June, the chain signed a 15-store deal in Georgia, and in July it announced it was coming back to Chicago, decades after leaving the city.
Del Taco, which is owned by Jack in the Box, has also seen growing restaurant commitments in East Coast markets. Harris said on Jack in the Box’s most recent earnings call that the taco brand has seen considerable success at its newest stores.
“Our most recent three Del Taco restaurant openings in Tallahassee and Port Orange, Florida, as well as Chesapeake, Virginia, each set new records for first week sales,” Harris said.
Despite these openings, the sales picture for the company is not rosy. In Q3 2024, Jack in the Box’s same-store sales fell by 2.2%, while Del Taco’s fell by 3.9%. Brandwide sales were down 1.3% and 3.2%, respectively.
Those sliding sales are the likely drivers for the company’s embrace of value in recent months. Del Taco debuted its own $2 value platform in July and Jack in the Box added a snacking-focused value menu with items priced below $4 at the end of May. Harris said the burger brand has added a $5 meal deal to start Q4, competing directly with McDonald’s and Burger King’s $5 meal deals.
