Quiznos CEO Deno Resigns as Schaden Steps Back In
DENVER (Blue MauMau) – Quiznos Subs announced today that Dave Deno has resigned effective immediately from his position as CEO and Rick Schaden, the franchisor’s largest shareholder, is taking over the reins again as the chief executive. According to sources, Greg Brenneman made the announcement early this morning to franchisees and employees through a special voicemail message. He explained that Deno was leaving due to personal reasons, that his commute between Louisville and Quiznos’ Denver corporate offices became too difficult given the commitment required. Brenneman said that he would be staying on as the company’s executive chairman.
A press release issued later said that the involvement of Greg Brenneman and Rick Schaden in these roles signals the personal commitment of Quiznos’ three large shareholders. It further stated,
“Rick’s amazing entrepreneurial skills were perfect for building Quiznos from the ground up and are ideal to grow the company in this tough economic environment,” said Greg Brenneman, Executive Chairman. “Rick was a franchise owner before buying and growing Quiznos. He has a detailed understanding of the brand. The marriage of Rick’s passion for the brand and new products, along with the world class management team we have brought in over the past two years, will enable us to maximize franchise owner profitability going forward. The Board would also like to thank Dave Deno for his service to the brand, both as a Board member and as CEO.”
Rick Schaden issed this statement:
“Quiznos is a great brand that has just begun to harvest its incredible growth potential in both US and international markets,” said Rick Schaden, Founder and CEO. “It is important that the investors directly spend their time and efforts with the company during these challenging economic times. Greg and I enjoy working together and will continue to do so in his role as Chairman of CCMP Capital Advisors and Executive Chairman of Quiznos.
“I am excited about working closely with franchise owners to improve restaurant operations. I also look forward to spending time with the outstanding Quiznos management team developing new products. Moving forward, our strategy will be exactly as it is today. Our primary focus will be on increasing restaurant profitability for our franchise owners by bringing value and convenience to consumers so that they frequent Quiznos more often.”
Schaden to Take on Numerous Challenges
The Quiznos system has been riddled with problems and litigation over the past seven years. According to some lawsuits, franchisees allege that the company has been engaged in illegal and deceptive business practices, inducing unwitting prospects to purchase and operate Quiznos stores. The documents state that with 4,636 franchises in the U.S. today, a number that is continuing to grow, Quiznos classifies the majority of its franchisees as financially distressed.
Last month it was reported in the Rocky Mountain News that the acceleration of the worst economic crisis in a generation had caused Quiznos to implement new strategies in advertising and pricing. Brenneman and Deno both stated they were working to mend relations with their franchisees and things were getting better every day. But some franchisees felt that lower prices were only further squeezing franchisees’ profits, and that Quiznos was struggling with its brand identity moving from one strategy to another.
Quiznos announced today another marketing plan. It will give away one million subs as part of its effort to offer better prices for a better world. Building off Quiznos' new lower price offerings, the million sub giveaway also rewards individuals who are doing their part to make the world a little better and encourages others to do the same. But franchisees feel it will not do anything to help them because the financial burden will be on them, not Quiznos.
Telephone calls to Quiznos and its media relations firm were not returned prior to publishing.
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Related article:
- Quiznos New CEO Dave Deno Speaks
- Quiznos New CEO Greg Brenneman Speaks
- Quiznos Board Member Becomes President
- Quiznos' Chief Counsel Speaks Out on Issues
- Quiznos Franchisees Walloped by Recession
- Quiznos Files Answer and Counterclaim to 'Sold but Not Opened' Lawsuits
- Quiznos CEO Slashes Prices
- Quiznos(R) to Give Away One Million Subs on MillionSubs.com
- Franchise topic:

Here is what happened in Canada, two years ago, when the Canadian Franchisees started to look at forming a purchasing co-op.
"In early 2006, over 100 Quizno’s franchisees joined a corporation called Denver Subs Canada Franchisee Association (hereinafter “Denver Subs”) which was established, according to KDL, to cooperate with Quizno’s to find a solution to the cost of goods issue. Talbot-Kelly took on the position of acting President of Denver Subs.
From Quizno’s perspective, Talbot-Kelly began acting against Quizno’s interests in breach of the Agreement after he took the position with Denver Subs Quizno’s says KDL is vicariously liable for the acts of Talbot-Kelly and on that basis was justified in terminating the Agreement in November 2006.
Thereafter, Quizno’s brought an action for damages against the KDL Defendants for breach of the terms of the Agreement and to assert its right to terminate the Agreement (hereinafter “the Action”). The KDL Defendants subsequently served Quizno’s Canada Restaurant Corporation, The Quizno’s Master LLC, Quiz-Can LLC and Greg MacDonald (hereinafter collectively “Quizno’s”) with a statement of defence and counterclaim, which it subsequently amended."
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
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Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
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Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
... and they have reassured me repeatedly that Colorado does have some decent laws in the area of wrongfully transferring money out of one LLC into another. I have also talked to a couple of lawyers that have done work on trusts that are designed to protect asserts and that have all told me that there aren't any that are 100% bulletproof. So in other words, if Schaden has the money hidden somewhere, you can get to it if you're good enough.
Schaden has burned too many people and I can tell you, I for one will not give up until we get our money. I will hunt down his hidden assets if need be, becoming my own private detective if I have to, but I will not let him walk away with money he owes us. If he wants to declare bankruptcy, let him, we will get whatever assets he owns one way or the other. He has no idea how determined I am to see him lose whatever assets he hid, wherever he hid them. I can travel to the Cayman's too.
Don't give up because you deserve the money. All the hurt zees need to be taken care of. All the stories are consistant and plain mean that they can go out and fleece thousands of people. It may be catching up with them because of all the stories people are writing. There is no amount of money that will make up for all the suffering people have gone through. They are dealing with people's lives and they deserve much more than paying people money.
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Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
Deja vu all over again. We spoke at some length about "fraudulent conveyance" and other such debtor-creditor law back in the days when Snowden and Morgan were riding high, and Dale Nabors was being annoyingly perky.
Yes, there are laws as Piotrowski points out. Yes, if the transfers did not render the transferor insolvent the law takes a "no harm, no foul" attitude, as Solomon points out. Yes, the substantive law is state law and as such you would also need to know what the law of the case is.
All of that is a bit beyond the scope of a general discussion, and beyond the scope of the facts known insofar as one wishes to have a Quiznos-specific discussion.
Offshore trusts are outside the jurisdiction of US courts. However, if an entity or natural person within the jurisdiction of US courts is pressured, the pragmatic result may be that the "untouchable" offshore asset suddenly gets touched real fast. As I recall, there was a case involving criminal fraud and a Cook Islands trust a few years back, and that is how the Judge taught the defendants who was boss.
Paul Steinberg
Franchisee Attorney, New York City, Ph: 212-529-5400
Paul Steinberg, Franchisee Attorney, New York City, Ph: 212-529-5400
Les Stewart MBA FranchiseFool :: WikidFranchise
Les Stewart MBA FranchiseFool :: WikidFranchise
Yes, the "kickback" issue is well known and has been discussed here on BMM.
On the other issues--having assets offshore is not per se illegal, and you don't provide documentation for your other charges. I don't like Schaden myself, but you want to be careful about statements which cross over into being legally actionable.
Paul Steinberg
Franchisee Attorney, New York City, Ph: 212-529-5400
Paul Steinberg, Franchisee Attorney, New York City, Ph: 212-529-5400
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Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
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