5 Questions With Gregg Majewski

1. Early in your career you went from intern to CEO at Jimmy John’s in just five years. What did you glean from that experience?

I owe much of my professional learnings and personal development to working with Jimmy John’s founder Jimmy Liautaud. We both had a drive to succeed, through the good times and the difficult moments, which really connected us. I learned from him that hard work truly always wins in the end. Together, we implemented a franchise model that made business functions seamlessly repeatable for our franchisees. During my time at Jimmy John’s, we built a strong team culture and grew the business from 33 to over 300 locations.

2. How did you come up with the business model for Craveworthy Brands?

Craveworthy officially launched with three restaurant brands in early 2023, but this wild dream started long before that. I always knew I wanted to build a hospitality business, and I worked on creating my own playbook for optimizing a full-stack restaurant system. It all came together when I started seeing that some really great emerging brands were struggling to compete with the big boys in the industry. I took my philosophy of systemization and applied it by creating a shared service platform to help legacy and emerging concepts. Providing support such as operational and training procedures or streamlined marketing and tech stacks gives aspiring operators the ability to scale with great food and an established business model. Now, we have nearly 20 brands and over 300 locations within our portfolio, and it continues to grow.

3. How do you ensure you give each brand the necessary time and attention?

To be successful, I promised myself that I would learn every role within the restaurant and operate at the same level as any general manager or franchise partner. Whenever we welcome a new brand, I go out into the field in our existing markets and work through every aspect of the business right there alongside them. Only then do I feel I can make the right decisions for our company growth moving forward because I fully understand each function and how they work together.

4. What excites you most about the future of foodservice?

I am very excited about the innovations in technology and how it can support our hospitality-first approach. After the pandemic, it became more of a priority to find ways to lower the labor model without losing the hospitality factor, whether those are using robotics in the kitchen or implementing improvements in digital ordering throughout the guest’s journey. It is important to consistently search for new operational efficiencies, creating a better customer experience and driving sales thoughtfully. For example, we recently partnered with a restaurant tech platform to level up our digital menu boards. It is a creative way to push out limited-time offerings, change pricing in real-time when needed and offer different menu options during varying traffic times of the day, without putting a burden or constraints on the operator.

5. Where do you turn for inspiration?

My inspiration has always been Disney. I am in awe of what they built over a century ago and how it continues to thrive in the modern day. It set the precedent for an amazing guest experience, and the way they treat their guests is nothing short of phenomenal. Disney operates with the goal of making everyone’s dream come true and they really understand how to create an emotional experience. It is that connection that keeps people coming back and what I want to be able to mirror at Craveworthy Brands.