Dive Brief:
- Smashburger has hired Jim Sullivan as chief development officer, according to a press release issued Wednesday.
- Sullivan will oversee “market planning, site selection and franchise sales,” according to the release, and will be especially focused on “elevating Smashburger's brand identity in the fast-casual space.”
- Smashburger is looking to resume growth under Denise Nelsen, who joined the brand as CEO in January. Smashburger has struggled to grow its system in recent years, with its systemwide unit count shrinking from 219 at the start of 2022 to 210 at the end of 2023, according to its franchise disclosure document.
Dive Insight:
Before joining Smashburger, Sullivan had worked as CDO at Qdoba, following stints in development roles at CKE Restaurant Holdings, Friendly's Ice Cream and American Hospitality Concepts.
Nelsen said Sullivan’s experience would “be instrumental in driving our ambitious expansion plans both domestically and internationally. His leadership and vision will be game changers for our brand, and we are excited to see how he will elevate Smashburger to new heights and solidify our position as a household name."
While Smashburger does on-off store development agreements, according to its FDD, the chain focuses primarily on working with multi-unit operators, to which it grants geographic exclusivity.
Smashburger has a habit of announcing its executive appointments after the transition, and Sullivan officially joined the chain in June. The brand hired Thomas Prather, a Starbucks alum like Nelsen, as chief marketing officer earlier this year to participate in what it described as a menu refocus. Smashburger’s central menu item has spawned imitators of late. Weigel’s, a c-store chain, added smashed burgers to its menu in July, as did Sonic.
