Charlie Morrison has been here before.
The longtime restaurant industry executive on Thursday was named CEO of Jersey Mike’s, a position he officially starts on Monday.
It won’t be an easy task. Jersey Mike’s was owned and run by the same person for 50 years in Peter Cancro. Cancro sold most of his stake in the sandwich chain to the private-equity firm Blackstone. And now he’s stepping back and handing over the day-to-day operations to Morrison, who will now be responsible for taking the company wherever it goes from here.
Such changes can make or break companies. New ownership and new management can come in, change too much of the culture or what made the brand great, and then the growth that led to the deal evaporates. A lot of companies struggle after such deals.
But, as we said, Morrison has been here before. In 2012, he took over Wingstop not long after its sale to Roark Capital and took over management from the executive who brought the company to that point. Wingstop has since gone on to become one of the hottest restaurant chains in the U.S.
“There’s a necessity and importance to recognize and respect the culture and the organization and what has gotten the organization to that point and not to lose that,” Morrison said in an interview with Restaurant Business. “At Wingstop, we never changed anything of the core product, the flavors or the application of how we did things over the entire tenure.”
At Jersey Mike’s, that includes slicing meats in front of customers on individual sandwiches and keeping the grills on all day. It also means keeping the Day of Giving, in which proceeds from the day’s sales are donated to local charities. That day has been increasingly valuable to those charities as the chain has grown, with more than $30 million donated in the most recent event.
“The Day of Giving is paramount to the brand,” Morrison said. “It’s why people believe in Jersey Mike’s.”
In many respects, Wingstop and Jersey Mike’s are on the same level. Both are part of a generation of high-growth, fast-casual chains that have taken share in their respective markets, in Wingstop’s case chicken, with Jersey Mike’s sandwiches. Wingstop generated $4.4 billion in U.S. system sales last year, compared with $3.7 billion for Jersey Mike’s.
The comparison was not lost on Cancro. “It’s funny,” he said. “The bankers used to compare Wingstop to us. They were public, we were private. But we were both on the rise.”
Charlie Morrison | Photo courtesy of Jersey Mike's.
As such, both Morrison and Cancro talked about him being the right “fit” for the job, and the Thursday announcement was likewise filled with such concepts. Morrison has a long history of leading franchised brands.
Yet to Cancro, that wasn’t the only reason Morrison was the right person for the job. Cancro notes that he never considered himself to be the CEO. “I’m just Peter,” he said. “I’m part of the team.” He said Morrison brings that same demeanor to the job. “It’s the personality,” Cancro said. “You get what he is. He doesn’t try and act any certain way. He’s Charlie. That’s exactly what we need.”
That said, like Wingstop—which is publicly traded—Jersey Mike’s needs to take the next step. With over 3,000 U.S. locations, the company believes it has plenty of white space domestically and can continue to take share from chains like market leader Subway.
It also has plans to grow internationally. It has had a strong debut in Canada and is eyeing other markets for expansion. All that will be up to Morrison.
“We have a lot of white space to grow in the U.S.,” he said. “The brand has been doing well in Canada, the first international market. We’ll continue to find ways to expand the footprint of the brand overseas.”
He also mentioned boosting the digital platform to maintain the chain’s performance and accelerate its growth.
There are also more long-term questions. Morrison has experience taking companies public. That move would make sense for a brand like Jersey Mike’s whenever Blackstone opts for the exit most private-equity firms work toward.
“There are any number of outcomes that could happen from this, that is certainly one of them,” Morrison said. “If a public offering makes sense for the brand, then good. But that’s not the focus right now.”
While Morrison will become only the second CEO in Jersey Mike’s history, he will have plenty of access to the first one. Cancro retains his ownership and his chairman title and he will work with Morrison and will meet with different franchise owners.
And Morrison said he likes having Cancro there. “He’s been with the brand for 50 years,” Morrison said. “He knows every nook and cranny. It’s a gift having Peter on the board and as chair.”
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