Charlie Morrison’s abrupt departure Monday as Wingstop’s CEO offered far more questions than it did answers:
Why would one of the most successful CEOs of a public restaurant chain during the pandemic era resign?
Why would he leave to helm a regional, 50-unit drive-thru concept called Salad and Go?
What does this mean for Wingstop?
What’s certain, though, about one of the industry’s biggest surprises in months, is that Morrison transformed Wingstop during his tenure there.
When Morrison came to Wingstop as CEO in 2012, after five years as head of buffet chain Pizza Inn, the 533-unit fast-casual wing chain was still using a fax machine and manually typing orders into the point-of-sale system.
In the years since, Wingstop, which now has more than 1,700 global locations, has made progress on Morrison’s stated goal of digitizing 100% of all transactions, with more than 61% of sales now coming through digital channels.
In December, Wingstop opened its first all-digital, cashless prototype restaurant without a dining room, to see how it can further boost digital business.
That tech push has been accompanied by swiftly growing profits, especially during the pandemic. Wingstop reported same-store sales growth of 21.4% in 2020. During the second quarter of 2020, same-store sales jumped an eye-popping 31.9%, even more remarkable in a sea of restaurant chains logging massive declines during that period.
Wingstop’s stock closed down about 3% Tuesday, close to the chain’s 52-week low, on the uncertainty.
But BTIG analysts Peter Saleh and Ben Parente said in a report this week that while the news is a “surprise,” there’s little cause for concern, especially since experienced COO Michael Skipworth will take over the CEO post. Skipworth and Morrison worked together to take Wingstop public in 2015.
“We have seen a number of executive departures within the restaurant industry recently that appear to be more about lifestyle and career arcs than anything else and view this one in a similar vein,” the analysts said. “We continue to see Wingstop as a concept with impressive near- and long-term prospects.”
Morrison has served on the board of Phoenix-based Salad and Go since 2020. He will remain based in Dallas and the salad chain will keep its headquarters. The chain currently has stores in Arizona and Texas.
Representatives from Salad and Go declined an interview request from Restaurant Business and refused to answer any further questions about the chain or about Morrison’s relationship with the company.
In a three-sentence statement, Salad and Go said Morrison would take over his new role on April 11 and that he “brings deep operations, product and innovation experience to the table.”
“We look forward to partnering with Charlie to continue building on Salad and Go’s mission of providing fresh, nutritious and affordable fast food to all,” the statement said.
Salad and Go’s current CEO, Joel Chrisman, will shift to the newly created post of COO, the chain said.
Salad and Go was founded in 2013 by Roushan Christofellis and her husband, Tony, according to media reports.
The chain is known for its drive-thru model, small footprint stores and low prices.
In a local news interview from July 2020, Salad and Go’s founders said they had lowered prices by 20% since 2018, noting that they were selling a 48-ounce salad with chicken for $5.74 and organic cold brew coffee for $1. Those salad prices remain in place today.
“Our mission is to make organic food affordable to everyone, not the few, therefore raising prices is not an option,” Roushan Christofellis told the Gilbert Sun News. “We have never made a profit. We don’t measure success by profit, we measure success by how much good we do—higher wages for our team, lower prices and more organic for the consumer, and helping the community when they need help.”
Salad and Go had 2020 systemwide sales of $22 million, according to an estimate from RB sister firm Technomic. The chain had three-year average sales growth of 27.5%, the firm said, and average unit volumes in 2020 of $955,000.
Christofellis said Salad and Go was paying for increased wages through “efficiency gains.”
“Everything about Salad and Go is different and we like that,” she told the newspaper.
According to Roushan Christofellis’ LinkedIn, she left Salad and Go in October 2020.
In January 2021, the couple launched a new concept, Angie’s Lobster, billed as the “home of $9.99 lobster meals.” It currently has two locations in Arizona, with four more listed as coming in spring and winter 2022 on its website.
Representatives from Angie’s Lobster also declined an RB interview request.