Name: Scott Davis

New title: Chief Concept Officer, Noodles & Company

Previous title: President and Chief Concept Officer, CoreLife Eatery

Scott Davis will begin his tenue as chief concept officer for Noodles on June 19, the company announced Wednesday. 

Noodles has struggled over the past year, hemorrhaging traffic and sales in recent quarters as other fast casual chains have notched solid sales. In November, Noodles CEO Dave Boennighausen left the company and Drew Madsen assumed responsibility for leading the chain. This March, Madsen was named permanent CEO and the company announced a broad program of changes to its menu intended to draw back customers.

Davis has worked as president and CCO at CoreLife Eatery, a 46-unit fast casual chain, since 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, he was EVP and CCO at Panera for more than 28 years. 

During his tenure at Panera, Davis was responsible for “steering the brand's transformation from its beginnings as St. Louis Bread Company in 2001 to becoming a national brand with over 1,800 units by 2014,” according to the press release.

Davis, according the press release, had a hand in some of Panera’s major strategy moves during its growth in the 2000s and early 2010s, “including Panera’s first bagel program, panini sandwiches, entrée salads, the ‘secret menu,’ and free Wi-Fi.”

Davis’ experience in successful menu design could help Noodles as it looks to recover from a bruising traffic and sales slide.