Jim Hyatt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta-based Church’s Chicken, the franchisor and operator of 1700 restaurants around the world, has appointed Joe Christina, Executive Vice President of the chain’s U.S. Operations, effective immediately.
Joe Christina was most recently the Senior Vice President, North America Western Division of Burger King Restaurant Franchise operations. Joe was responsible for overseeing more than 2,000 restaurants. He implemented standards and operational best practices that reduced expenses and improved quality that generated an 8% increase in comp sales in multiple markets. In his role, Christina delivered a 10% increase in operational excellence through new structure and targets and improved cleanliness and friendliness scores and customer loyalty. Joe also improved customer satisfaction in franchise restaurants by directing and ensuring that the standards of the brand image were being maintained. In addition, for underperforming restaurants, Joe Christina put into effect remodeling and refranchising programs.
“Joe is the ultimate restaurant operations leader who truly knows the importance of providing exceptional brand experiences for our customers and our restaurant teams,” said Hyatt. “We have similar backgrounds working in the quick service restaurant industry and starting out early in our careers managing and eventually owning and operating our own restaurants. Joe has an outstanding ability to lead and develop people. Our franchisees and company operators will benefit tremendously from Joe Christina’s skills and his passion for operational excellence.”
Christina has the responsibility for all of Church’s restaurant operations including operations services in the U.S. and is a member of Church’s Executive Team reporting directly to Jim Hyatt.
“I’m thrilled to join Church’s and work with Jim Hyatt and his team. I’m looking forward to working with our franchisees and the company operations teams as we work to grow sales and profits,” said Joe Christina. “Our focus is about providing our customers with exceptional service and great food each time they visit. I feel confident that together, our teams’ efforts and achievements will make our customers proud of their neighborhood Church’s Chicken restaurant.”
Joe Christina is a graduate of Quinnipiac College where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing.
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952, Church’s Chicken is a highly recognized brand name in the Quick Service Restaurant sector and is one of the largest quick service chicken concepts in the world. Church’s serves up a rich tradition of gracious Southern hospitality and freshly prepared, high quality, authentic home-style fare, to help people provide affordable, complete meals for their families. Church’s menu includes flavorful chicken both Original and Spicy and Tender Strips and sandwiches with classic sides and hand-made from scratch honey-butter biscuits. The Church’s system consists of more than 1700 locations in 25 countries and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information on Church’s Chicken, visit www.churchs.com.
