Scott Nicholson Email & Phone Number

New York City Metropolitan Area

Irvine, California, United States

Reports to the CEO and provide regular updates to the Senior Executive Team and Board of Directors regarding the company's performance and strategies for continuous improvement. Oversee operations of a leading international community of fast-casual poke restaurants, consisting of 70 units generating an annual volume of $70M and team of 14, including key positions such as VP of Franchise Operations, Director of Company Operations, and Director of Supply Chain. Advocate for the implementation of field training systems, competency development programs, and skills enhancement strategies, fostering internal advancement opportunities. Key Achievements:• Achieved 12% sales growth and 5% prime cost improvement in company and franchise locations. • Refined the restaurant opening process to achieve 30% higher store-open weeks. • Saved an average of 300bps in cost of goods by negotiating and implementing national distribution programs. • Led the development of a revised process for building menu items that increased customer throughput potential by 5% and improved value perception ratings by 20%. • Developed and implemented a revised labor/compensation model that reduced labor costs by 200bps

Los Angeles, California, United States

Established profitable ghost kitchens in West Los Angeles, serving luxury hotels and local food delivery throughout the pandemic; managed a hotel food-service and restaurant operations consulting business. managed and focused on hotel food-service and restaurant operations. Developed concept stories, menu items, and preparation recipes for 2 successful ghost kitchen concepts catering to multiple dayparts. Built and customized the order website interfaces and marketing strategies that created targeted awareness and consistent transaction growth. Collaborated with restaurant operators to implement innovative strategies for improved efficiency, outsourcing labor-intensive recipes, leveraging technologies, certifying safe operations during the pandemic, and facilitating efficient scalability post-pandemic.Key Achievements: • Generated over $800K in revenue for 2 concepts while maintaining positive cash flow during the pandemic.• Achieved an aggregate EBITDA of 15% through strategic menu development, negotiated purchasing, and operations control disciplines. • Exceeded sales growth 10% month-over-month.

Greater Los Angeles Area

Promoted to Senior VP of Operations within four years and played a crucial role in leading the expansion of the largest chain of plant-based restaurants in the nation. Complete profit and loss responsibility for 37 company-owned locations across multiple states, with a team of approximately 1000 members and annual sales of around $65M. Reported directly to the CEO; responsible for leading and developing a team of Regional Operators, Regional Kitchen Managers, a Director of Learning, and Operations Support Managers. Spearheaded the development of essential operations systems, reporting processes, and workforce planning strategies in collaboration with senior leadership, ensuring smooth expansion and sustained growth. Collaborated with the Marketing, Training, and Information Technology departments to execute seasonal and annual marketing initiatives.Key Achievements: • Developed and headed teams that achieved 4 consecutive years of double-digit sales growth while expanding the brand to multiple domestic markets. • Implemented new sales channels and guest engagement strategies resulting in sustained annual transaction growth of 15% and companywide AUV of over $2M. • Built check average by 8% through the creation and implementation of menu categories, merchandising tactics, and Guest engagement strategies. • Reduced kitchen labor cost by 15% through the implementation of outsourced foods and standards for kitchen team deployment.

Greater Los Angeles, California, United States

Responsible for various aspects of operations support, training, project management/implementation, quality assurance, and restaurant openings. Reported directly to the CEO and managed a team of 6 direct reports, including Culinary Services Managers, Training Managers, and a Manager of Training Programs. Played a pivotal role in developing operations, training, and development systems to support enterprise growth, such as manuals, store opening programs, home office training programs, and a digital learning management system. Implemented an automated kitchen display system to improve operational efficiency, resulting in a 2-minute reduction in ticket times for order communication and tracking. Executed effective strategies for emerging markets, contributing to the achievement of post-opening sales goals. Advanced a cost-tracking system to ensure restaurant openings were completed within or under budget.Key Achievements:• Improved food cost by 2.5% while reducing inventory carry through the development, implementation, and maintenance of the cost variance management platform and improved purchasing practices.• Saved over $100K annually in lost sales through implementing the policies and procedures regarding minimize shrinkage and sales theft. • Increased the rate of internal promotion by 10% through the development and implementation of a Shift Leadership identification and training program.

Los Angeles, California, United States

Assumed complete P&L responsibility for approximately 90 company-operated stores and 210 U.S. stores spanning 12 states, generating revenues of approximately $350 million. Provided operations support for international franchise system with approx. 900 stores operating across 16 countries with system-wide revenues approximately $1B for this privately held company. Developed a Team of Operations professionals that achieved positive comp sales through the Great Recession through team empowerment and the establishment of new and productive sales channels. Reported directly to the Senior VP of Operations; led and developed 5 U.S. District Managers, and 7 support personnel regarding project management, systems administration, and operations engineering and analytics. Created merchandising and sales strategies that maintained 10% positive comp sales in domestic locations during the Great Recession.Key Achievements:• Improved throughput capacity by 30% through improved workstation design, team deployment standards, and implementation of automatic equipment. • Enhanced prime costs by 6% through implementation of variance management tactics for COGS, labor, and operating costs. • Created and executed sales and merchandising strategies for the successful launch of a proprietary single cup brewing system in 16 countries. • Launched a comprehensive “Grab & Go” food program for U.S. domestic locations that increased food sales by 70%.

Dublin, Ohio, United States

Reported directly to the Chief Operating Officer; accountable for training/development, operations services, systems administration, and restaurant openings. Developed productive operating routines and systems that supported superior guest service and operating efficiencies, resulting in multiple years of comparable store sales and strong profitability. Oversaw 8 direct reports including several director-level and manager professionals, Food/Labor Cost Systems Administrator, and an Operations Analyst.Key Achievements:• Supported the expansion of the company to 300 locations (50% franchised) across 27 states, producing annual sales of $450M (the company was owned by Wendy’s International during tenure).• Revamped and implemented food and labor costs programs, improving prime costs by 4%. • Steered the development of restaurant sales strategies that grew check average by 10%. • Headed the design of more efficient kitchens that reduced average ticket time by 75 seconds.