PrimoHoagies has appointed Glen Brandeburg as Chief Operating Officer, completing a four-executive leadership build-out the Philadelphia-based sandwich franchise says is designed to support a national expansion without diluting the quality standards it has maintained since 1992.
Brandeburg brings more than three decades of restaurant leadership to the role, including a tenure at Wendy's where he rose to Division Vice President overseeing roughly 800 restaurants across corporate and franchise operations. He later served as president of a multi-brand franchise organization operating Wendy's, Papa John's, and a regional concept — experience that puts him on both sides of the franchisor-franchisee relationship, an increasingly valued credential as QSR and fast-casual chains push deeper into franchise-led growth models.
The Leadership Team
His hire is the fourth executive appointment PrimoHoagies has made in the past year, following Senior Vice President of Development Angela Coppler, Chief Financial Officer Alex Chu, and Vice President of Marketing Madalyn Weintraub. The four roles map directly to what Owner, President and CEO Nicholas Papanier Jr. describes as a unified strategy: development sources locations and franchisees, finance targets unit-level profitability, marketing drives consumer demand, and operations ensures consistent in-store execution.
Brandeburg's appointment also reunites him with Coppler, with whom he worked for more than 14 years at Wendy's during a period of large-scale restaurant reinvestment and modernization. That shared history is notable given that misalignment between development pipelines and operational readiness is a persistent friction point in franchise systems scaling through new geographies.
Operational Priorities
Brandeburg's stated operational agenda centers on three pillars: standardizing best practices into repeatable playbooks across the 88-unit system, improving franchisee business intelligence and reporting tools, and enforcing what the brand calls the "Primo Standard" of ingredient quality and guest experience. The approach reflects a broader industry push among mid-size sandwich and deli-style chains to tighten unit-level economics before accelerating footprint growth — a lesson absorbed from the uneven expansions of several fast-casual competitors over the prior decade.
"Great brands are built by creating systems that help people succeed consistently," Brandeburg said. "What attracted me to PrimoHoagies is that this is a brand that has fiercely protected its commitment to quality while proving there is tremendous opportunity to grow."
The chain, which has been recognized by USA Today as a top sandwich shop for three consecutive years and draws coverage from Food & Beverage Magazine in the specialty deli segment, operates across 88 franchised locations. According to disclosures in the company's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, systemwide average unit volume is based on those 88 restaurants open for the full 2024 calendar year, with 41% exceeding that average. The brand is actively recruiting franchise partners in new markets, with information available at ownaprimo.com.
For operators and potential franchisees evaluating emerging sandwich concepts, PrimoHoagies' sequential executive hiring signals a deliberate transition from founder-led management toward institutional infrastructure — a structural shift that typically precedes accelerated unit growth in the franchise development sector.
The trajectory also mirrors moves by other regional specialty sandwich brands that have used seasoned multi-unit operators to bridge the gap between cult-brand identity and scalable franchise operations.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
