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Pie Five brings on operations VP in hopes of driving growth

Pie Five has named Scott Black as its VP of operations. Image provided by Pie Five.

August 28, 2019

Pie Five Pizza Co., a unit of Dallas-based Rave Restaurant Group, has tapped Scott Black as its vice president of operations. He began his career as general manager at Nick-N-Willy's Take-N-Bake Pizza, where he worked his way to CEO of the restaurant chain in less than 10 years, according to a company press release. Since then, Black has held operational and development leadership roles at Noodles & Company, Garbanzo Fresh Mediterranean, &Pizza, Naked Pizza, Lyfe Kitchen and Bobby's Burger Palace.

"Scott really understands the Pie Five vision and he brings invaluable experience in both pizza and the fast casual segment to our team," Rave President Bob Bafundo said in the release. "He has the incredible ability to develop systems and processes, build teams, and optimize emerging brands that are in growth mode, making him the perfect fit for Pie Five."

Black's first task will be to create an operations structure that drives growth, which might not be easy, considering that Pie Five has been struggling for the past couple of years. It reported a 4.4% drop in its comparable-store retail sales in fiscal Q3 of this year, which ended in March. Its sister chain, Pizza Inn, however, saw a 3.3% increase in comparable-store retail sales and a 4.3% lift in domestic retail sales.

"Pie Five has incredible potential; it is growing and moving in the right direction, Black said in the release. "Pie Five is a leader in the rapidly growing fast casual pizza segment, and I'm eager to continue its momentum and leverage my expertise to take Pie Five to a whole new level."

Cover image: Courtesy of Pie Five