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Chicago & Midwest  + South Side  + Retail  | 
Pot Belly Unveils Big Expansion Plans: 1,550 New Restaurants

Potbelly Brings in QSR Veteran Wright as CEO

Potbelly Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, named Robert D. Wright as president and CEO, succeeding Alan Johnson. A 30-year veteran of the quick-serve restaurant sector, Wright was most recently COO at the Wendy’s Company.

“We are thrilled to welcome a new leader with extensive restaurant operating experience,” said Joe Boehm, Potbelly’s lead director. “He drove dramatic improvement in guest satisfaction at Wendy’s, and Potbelly will greatly benefit from his vision, leadership, and drive to successfully transform our business.”

Wright‘s immediate focus will be on accelerating the Company’s ongoing business turnaround. This includes improving the on- and off-premise guest experience, enhancing the brand positioning, and reviewing the company’s cost structure and asset base. 

Wright said, “Despite the challenges the current environment brings, I am confident that the core strengths of the Potbelly brand are exactly the qualities that make a successful, growing brand and company.”

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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