Back to the Future: Steve Jackson, President, CEO, Hungry Howie's Pizza

Franchise Today

My guest today is Steve Jackson, President and CEO of Hungry Howie’s. Steve, as some of you may remember, was my very first guest interview, following the COVID lock downs last spring. We were actually just entering week 3 when he joined us to talk about the radical changes that were under way then, to assure the ability to safely continue doing business, for both his franchisees and their teams, as well as for his corporate teams, both on the franchise AND supply chain and distribution sides of his business. Well, it’s been just over a year since that last conversation and Steve is back today with a tale of the tape. A look back retrospectively, as well as a look ahead. How much has his business changed? ow much must it continue to evolve, post COVID? For many of us, these times have felt more like the pages of a best-selling fiction thriller, than real life. But this is not a book, nor is it a drill. It’s the real deal and we all continue wrestling with the dual impacts of Corona Virus… medical and economic, as even a year later, it continues to wreak havoc on businesses, employees and customers. Steve Jackson has 46 years on the front lines in pizza and franchising, with more than 500 take-out and delivery restaurants in 21 states, Steve is a guy, who’d thought he’d seen it all. But, as he will confess, these times are different than anything he’s ever experienced, in nearly half a century in pizza and franchising.