The executive team at MOD Pizza has been gutted following the acquisition by Elite Restaurant Group earlier this month, according to sources familiar with the transition.
MOD Pizza CEO Beth Scott has updated her LinkedIn profile with an end date, saying her seven-month tenure with the Bellevue, Washington-based chain ended in July. She did not respond to requests for more information.
Scott came to MOD to replace co-founder Scott Svenson, who had moved to an executive chairman role. She previously was chief restaurant officer for Cooper’s Hawk, and, before that, spent four years at Bloomin’ Brands as president of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
One of her first moves at MOD, however, was closing underperforming restaurants for the then 540-unit chain. About 44 company-owned units have been shuttered so far this year. The sale to Elite was designed to avoid what many saw as impending bankruptcy.
A spokesperson with MOD, however, declined to comment on Scott’s exit, or that of other executives on the team.
A source who asked not to be named, however, said the change in ownership also marks the departure of CFO Bob Baker, as well as Chief Development Officer Stephen Blum, and Chief People Officer Dayna Eberhardt.
Eberhardt confirmed that she is no longer CPO and is among those with role eliminations.
The sale to Elite was designed to avoid an expected bankruptcy filing, though it remains unclear what the plans are for the brand going forward.
Los Angeles-based Elite has been a collector of struggling restaurant brands for years, including Slater’s 50/50, Marie Callender’s, Patxie’s Pizza, Daphne’s, Gigi’s Cupcakes and Mimi’s Café and others, though it’s not clear whether they are still owned by Elite.
Elite, led by Michael Nakhleh, did not respond to requests for more information.
UPDATE: This article has been update with new information.
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