Blaze Pizza has a new CEO.
The 250-unit fast-casual pizza chain on Tuesday named John Owen to the role of CEO, replacing Beto Guajardo, who joined Blaze as CEO in January 2023. No explanation was given for Guajardo’s departure.
Owen is the former chief operating officer of Scooter’s Coffee, a chain with 900 mostly franchised drive-thru locations in 32 states, where he spent close to two years helping to drive double-digit growth in both same-store sales and unit counts, Blaze said in the announcement.
Before that, Owen was CEO of Subway Russia, a master franchise operation that, in his four years there, had grown to 700 units.
But Owen spent the bulk of his career at McDonald’s Corp., starting as a crew member and ultimately rising to the role of corporate vice president of strategy and execution over three decades before leaving that brand in 2010.
John Owen. | Photo courtesy of Blaze Pizza.
“John’s commitment to great guest experiences and his ability to build strong relationships across the system position Blaze for profitable growth and successful expansion in the U.S and abroad,” said Rahul Aggarwal, a Blaze board member and representative of the chain’s private-equity parent Brentwood Associates.
In an interview with Restaurant Business, Owen said franchisees were very excited in their first Zoom call with him, in particular noting his long experience working with franchise brands.
“I am excited to be part of a group of franchisees who are excited about the business, and a group of support center people who share that same passion. And to be working with the Brentwood folks, who are clearly invested in making Blaze a continuing great brand going forward,” Owen said.
Founded in 2012 by Wetzel’s Pretzel’s co-founder Rick Wetzel and his wife Elise, Blaze initially grew with a powerful team of investors that included NBA star LeBron James, movie producer John Davis and Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner. The chain is now owned by Los Angeles-based private-equity firm Brentwood Associates, with a minority stake held by Dollarhyde Investment Group.
Since the pandemic, however, the fast-casual pizza category has struggled. Sales among fast-casual pizza chains declined 5% last year, according to data from Restaurant Business sister-brand Technomic.
MOD Pizza was once a high-flying competitor, for example, but that brand narrowly avoided bankruptcy last year when it was acquired by Elite Restaurant Group. It has continued to shrink and, more recently, franchise disclosure documents indicated the Bellevue, Washington-based chain was in default of its loan agreement and suggested the brand’s future is in doubt.
Pieology Pizza last month filed bankruptcy, closing about 17 restaurants after an attempt to save underperforming units went awry.
Blaze has fared better, though sales were down 2.6% in 2024, according to Technomic, ending the year with a unit count of 294. But Blaze has also been shrinking, with 250 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, as well as three in the Middle East, all of which are franchised. That’s down from about 330 in June 2024, when the fast-casual brand launched a comprehensive brand overhaul, hoping to reignite growth.
Blaze last year moved its headquarters from Pasadena, California, to Atlanta, where Guajardo and other executives had roots.
Owen, who is commuting to Atlanta from Omaha, where Scooter’s is based, said Blaze’s headquarters will remain in Atlanta.
And though he could not offer specifics about plans for the brand since it was only Day 2 on the job, Owen said he would focus work on ensuring that Blaze continues to remain relevant.
He said the brand would be talking up the ability guests have to customize their pizzas for one price.
“Personalization is getting bigger and bigger every day,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve had enough opportunity to let customers know enough that they can come in, and, for the same price, put whatever fresh ingredients they would like.”
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include more detail about the investor ownership.
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