The Director of Operations owns the operational performance of Abby's Legendary Pizza's 37 company-owned parlors across Oregon and Central Washington. Reporting directly to the President, this leader owns the four-wall P&L of every parlor: food and paper cost, labor cost, ticket averages, comp and void discipline, food safety, brand standards, and the guest experience that has defined Abby's since 1964. Through 6 district-level leaders (5 District Managers and a Market Coach) and the 37 General Managers with their Associate Manager and Assistant Manager teams, the Director translates brand strategy into consistent, in-store execution while protecting the legacy of "Toppings to the Edge" and 100% real mozzarella.
Header facts- Base salary: $135K - $185K
- Target bonus: 50% of base
- Travel: ~50-60%
- Reports to: President
What You'll Do- Own the four-wall P&L across all 37 parlors - food and paper cost, labor, prime cost, ticket average, comp and void discipline - and drive same-store sales growth through local-store marketing, LTO execution, and upsell discipline.
- Lead, coach, and hold accountable 6 district-level leaders (5 District Managers and 1 Market Coach) and, through them, 37 General Managers; rebalance district portfolios as new parlors open.
- Build the next generation of General Managers, Associate Managers, and Assistant Managers through structured development, in-parlor shadowing, and succession planning.
- Set and cascade the operating rhythm: pre-shift huddles, weekly one-on-ones with each district leader, monthly regional reviews, and quarterly company-wide scorecard reviews.
- Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, and capital deployment, and with Marketing on menu engineering, pricing strategy, and LTO rollouts.
- Own guest-experience metrics - speed of service, order accuracy, online review scores, Net Promoter - across dine-in, carry-out, direct online ordering, and third-party delivery.
- Champion food safety and compliance: ServSafe certification at all 37 parlors, HACCP-aligned line checks, clean health inspections in both states, OSHA and wage-and-hour compliance, and documented corrective action on every incident.
- Partner with Real Estate and Facilities on new-parlor openings, remodels, and refreshes, and with Technology on POS, online ordering, loyalty, KDS, scheduling, and inventory tools.
What You BringRequired- 8-12+ years of multi-unit restaurant operations experience, including 3-5 years leading District/Regional Managers (or equivalent) responsible for 25+ company-owned parlors.
- Verifiable track record of owning four-wall P&L at scale and improving food cost, labor cost, and prime-cost KPIs in pizza, casual dining, or comparable QSR/casual restaurant environment.
- Demonstrated success opening new company-owned parlors and/or shepherding remodels.
- Strong working knowledge of ServSafe, HACCP-style daily line checks, and state/county health-department inspection processes.
- Willingness and ability to travel 50-60% across Oregon and Central Washington; valid driver's license; ability to work evenings and weekends aligned with restaurant operating hours.
Preferred- Prior experience operating company-owned restaurant portfolios - direct accountability for staffing and P&L at the store level.
- Direct experience with pizza, Italian casual dining, or scratch-kitchen concepts.
- Proven success managing both dine-in and third-party delivery channel economics (DoorDash, Uber Eats).
- Familiarity with restaurant POS systems and modern scheduling/inventory platforms.
- Experience working across more than one U.S. state with different labor and health regulations (Oregon and Washington preferred).
Core Attributes & Leadership TraitsThis is an enterprise leadership role first. These attributes describe how we expect the Director of Operations to think, lead, and operate across the business:
- Enterprise Mindset - Thinks about what is best for the brand and company, not one district or parlor; understands how Operations connects to Marketing, HR, Finance, IT, Training, Development, and Supply Chain.
- Strategic-to-Operational Translator - Turns company strategy into clear field priorities, standards, routines, and measurable results across 37+ parlors.
- Results & Financial Acumen - Owns sales, traffic, labor, food cost, controllables, and EBITDA; reads a P&L and knows which operational levers drive profitability.
- Leader of Leaders - Develops and holds District Managers accountable to lead GMs effectively, rather than becoming the person everyone depends upon.
- High Accountability / High Support - Sets clear expectations, follows up relentlessly, addresses underperformance quickly, and still develops the leaders around them.
- Systems & Process Orientation - Builds repeatable operating systems instead of relying on heroic individual effort; looks for simplification, consistency, and scale.
- Change Leadership - Moves Abby's toward a more disciplined operating model without losing the culture and heritage that make it special.
- Cross-Functional Influence - Operates as a true member of the executive leadership team - not the head of a silo.
- Customer & Brand Obsessed - Protects Legendary Pizza and Legendary Hospitality; treats real cheese, toppings to the edge, and freshly rolled dough as working standards, not slogans.
- Talent Builder - Creates succession depth at DM, GM, and assistant-manager levels; promotes from within and handles under-performance decisively.
- Data-Driven, Field-Grounded - Uses scorecards and KPIs to find problems, then gets into parlors - pre-shift, peak line, tasting the product - to validate what the numbers are saying.
- Decisive & Courageous - Makes difficult calls on people, standards, structure, and resources; stays steady in a crisis and owns the next step.
- Communication & Presence - Communicates credibly from the Board level all the way to a cook, driver, or cashier.
- Ownership Mentality - Treats Abby's resources and results as their own business; doesn't explain away misses, owns them and builds the recovery plan.
- Multi-State Operator - Comfortable navigating Oregon and Washington labor law, wage rules, predictive scheduling, and differing health-code enforcement styles.
Success Metrics - First 12-18 Months- Four-wall EBITDA across the 37-parlor portfolio meets or exceeds annual plan.
- Portfolio food cost % and labor cost % at or below target; prime cost in the targeted band - achieved consistently across all 6 district portfolios.
- Same-store sales growth positive and accelerating across the trailing twelve months.
- Health-department inspection scores at or above target at every parlor; zero critical violations.
- DM, Market Coach, GM, Associate Manager, and Assistant Manager turnover below industry benchmark; identifiable internal pipeline at every level.
- New-parlor openings hit 30/60/90-day sales and profitability targets.
- Guest-experience scores (online reviews, internal guest-comment tracking) trending upward quarter over quarter across all 37 parlors.
Compensation & Benefits- Base salary: $135,000 - $185,000, with a target annual bonus of 50% of base.
- Health benefits: Medical, dental, vision coverage; life and long-term disability
- Retirement: 401(k), with company match.
- Time off & perks: Paid time off, company vehicle, phone stipend.
Working Conditions & ADAField-heavy role. Ability to be on the road 50-60% of the time visiting the 37 parlors across the 6 district portfolios; ability to stand for extended periods during restaurant visits; ability to lift up to 30 lbs (e.g., food and supply deliveries in support of operational reviews); willingness to work evenings and weekends aligned with restaurant operating hours; ability to respond to operational emergencies outside of normal business hours.
