FINANCE
INSIDE OMER GAJIAL’S PLANS FOR AUNTIE ANNE’S OWNER GOTO FOODS The new CEO of the fast-food chain operator wants to build unit economics, improve the customer experience and build on its technology capabilities.
THE GOTO FOODS CONFERENCE STARTED WITH A BRAND INTR WITH FLAG-WAVING. | PHOTOS BY JONATHAN MAZE.
B efore he took the helm of GoTo Foods in December, Omer Gajial worked in the supermarket industry, with the chain Albertsons, the CPG company Pepsi- Co and the tech company Amazon. Yet as he got on stage at the fast-food chain operator’s an- nual franchise conference in Atlanta in February, Gajial talked more like a science teacher. “I’m talking about improving our chemistry with our guests and also improving the physics of our business,” he said in front of a crowd of franchisees of GoTo Foods brands, including McAlister’s Deli, Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Carvel and Jamba. To Gajial, the “chemistry” is the customer experience and the “physics” is the unit economics. They, along with technol- ogy, are part of Gajial’s three-part plan for the company he now leads. The changes will be crucial for GoTo Foods to reach its long-stated goal. The company has gone through a number of changes in recent years, not the least of which was the hiring of Gajial as well as a corporate rebranding and new hires. The conference came two years after the former Focus Brands announced its new corporate moniker. The company, put together from the first acquisitions of the private-equity firm Roark Capital, in February announced a new CFO in Brett Ubl and a new chief growth officer in Francisco Bram. Three other executives, meanwhile, were given expand- ed role, including Mike Freeman, EVP and president of the brands, Urvi Patel, SVP of brands and chief brand officer of Cinnabon, and Chris McNutt, chief supply chain officer. Globally, the company’s brands have 7,300 stores in more than 70 countries and GoTo Foods last year reached deals to open another 1,400. But from a sales standpoint many of the chains have stag- nated, at least in the U.S. All but one of the chains, the pretzel concept Auntie Anne’s, reported negative U.S. system sales in 2024, according to data from Restaurant Business sister com- pany Technomic. Jim Holthouser, who had led the company for six years, announced his retirement. Gajial met with more than 80 franchisees and visited more than 50 locations in the more than two months since his ar- rival and spoke with a number of customers. He also said that he paid close attention to the team, the technology and the
JONATHAN MAZE
JONATHAN.MAZE@INFORMA.COM
4
RESTAURANT BUSINESS APRIL 2026
Powered by FlippingBook