Operations

Pepper Lunch names industry vet COO

Photo: Pepper Lunch

February 2, 2024

Pepper Lunch, a Japanese-born concept with over 500 locations in 15 countries, has tapped industry veteran Mark Bailey to serve as COO. Previously, he had been supporting Pepper Lunch in a consultant capacity, but with the company's growth trajectory and multiple recent major market franchisee signings, he is now overseeing the domestic operations arm of the brand, according to a company press release.

Bailey, who has been at the operations of Mr. Gatti's Pizza, Chronic Tacos and Pokeworks, will focus on the development and management of the company's first corporate-owned restaurant in North America, and streamlining Pepper Lunch's supply chain infrastructure as the brand continues its aggressive growth plan.

In addition to Bailey, the company also appointed Jonathan Whiteside as its director of Creative and Technology. Like Baily, he previously working in a contractual role with the company, constructing its systems.

"It's our goal to create the same fondness guests have Pepper Lunch abroad right here in the states, and to accomplish that, a best-in-class leadership team is critical," Pepper Lunch CEO Troy Hooper said in the release. "We have gone from filing our FDD to nearly 40 restaurants in the development pipeline, headed by experienced multi-unit franchisees, in just a few short months. With the addition of Mark and Jonathan to our executive team, we're anticipating continued growth trajectory as we head to 100 locations open in the coming two years."