A familiar face has returned to the helm at Quiznos after a two-year hiatus that included starting another restaurant chain and efforts to end homelessness.
Rick Schaden, Quiznos founder, once again became chief executive of the quick-service sub-sandwich chain, replacing Dave Deno, who resigned for personal reasons, the company said Monday. Greg Brenneman, who was CEO before Deno, continues as executive chairman of the company.
“Rick’s amazing entrepreneurial skills were perfect for building Quiz nos from the ground up and are ideal to grow the company in this tough economic environment,” Brenneman said.
In the two years Schaden, 45, was away from Quiznos, he and his family started the Schaden Family Fund. Schaden also founded the nonprofit America’s Road Home, which works to end homelessness, and helped found SmashBurger, a separate company.
Schaden’s primary focus will be increasing profitability for franchise owners, increasing value and convenience for consumers and opening more company stores. The chain has 4,400 franchise stores.
“I am excited about working closely with franchise owners to improve restaurant operations,” Schaden said.
The company has a history of tensions with franchise owners, some of which have resulted in high-profile litigation. Most of the cases have been settled, and relations with franchises have improved, Brenneman said.
Company leaders said the single biggest problem was prices, which they have adjusted by lowering the cost on 36 menu items by as much as 20 percent. Now, Schaden is focused on letting consumers know about the lower price point and new items coming next month.
“It’s a great fit for the economy,” Schaden said about the new items. “People are being careful with their dollars, and we think they’ll love it.”
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
