WOWorks Appoints James Walker as Chief Growth Officer and Promotes Nolan Woods to COO

Two Strategic Moves to Drive the Next Phase of Growth

WOWorks, the multi-brand restaurant group behind Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, The Simple Greek, Barberitos, and Zoup! Eatery, has made two significant leadership moves designed to strengthen its franchise growth strategy and sharpen operational execution across all six of its health-focused brands.

The company has appointed James Walker as Chief Growth Officer, bringing in a franchise industry heavyweight with more than 30 years of experience, while promoting Nolan Woods from Senior Vice President of Operations to Chief Operations Officer. CEO Kelly Roddy described the combination as a powerful foundation for franchisee success and long-term growth — one leader focused on bringing the right partners into the system, the other focused on making sure those partners succeed once they're in it.

James Walker - A Franchise Growth Veteran Takes the Helm on Expansion

Walker arrives at WOWorks with a resume that covers some of the most recognizable names in franchising. His career includes senior executive roles at Nathan's Famous, Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, and Subway, where he served as North American Vice President and managed a network of approximately 28,000 restaurants.

During his time at Subway he drove key initiatives across delivery, brand positioning, and operational growth — experience that directly applies to the multi-brand, multi-market challenge WOWorks is navigating.

As Chief Growth Officer, Walker will oversee franchise growth initiatives across the entire WOWorks portfolio, with a focus on strategic market expansion and franchise recruitment. His ability to identify and attract high-quality franchise partners — operators with the right experience, capital, and cultural fit — will be central to how quickly and sustainably WOWorks can grow its system. Walker has been recognized on Nation's Restaurant News' Power List, a reflection of his standing in the broader franchise industry.

Nolan Woods - An Operator Who Also Knows What It's Like to Be a Franchisee

Woods brings something relatively uncommon to the COO role - he is both a seasoned operator and an existing WOWorks franchisee. That dual perspective gives him a ground-level understanding of the challenges franchise partners face that most corporate operations executives simply don't have.

When he makes decisions about training, support systems, or operational standards, he's drawing on firsthand experience as someone who has run locations under the same brands he's now responsible for overseeing.

His background includes executive experience at McDonald's, where he developed his foundation in operational excellence, as well as a notable early career milestone — becoming the youngest general manager in the Panera franchise system while overseeing its highest-volume location within his franchise group. He has also led large-scale franchise growth initiatives and managed major acquisition transitions, giving him experience with the complexity that comes with operating across multiple concepts simultaneously.

What Each Role Is Designed to Accomplish

The division of responsibility between Walker and Woods is deliberate and complementary. Walker's mandate is outward-facing — identifying the right markets, recruiting the right franchisees, and building the pipeline of new development that will drive WOWorks' unit count growth. Woods' mandate is inward-facing — ensuring that the restaurants already open and the ones coming online deliver consistent, high-quality experiences for guests and sustainable economics for franchisees.

In a franchise system, both sides of that equation matter equally. Aggressive development without strong operations support leads to franchisee struggles and brand dilution. Strong operations without a growth engine leads to stagnation. WOWorks is building leadership that addresses both simultaneously.

A Portfolio Built Around Better-for-You Dining

WOWorks currently operates nearly 240 restaurants nationwide across its six brands, each positioned within the health-conscious, better-for-you fast-casual segment. The portfolio spans salads, Mediterranean cuisine, Greek food, burritos, smoothie bowls, and soups — a range of formats and flavor profiles that gives the company flexibility in how it approaches different markets and consumer preferences.

The health-focused positioning is a strategic asset in the current environment, where consumers are increasingly scrutinizing what they eat without necessarily wanting to sacrifice convenience or flavor. WOWorks' brands address that demand across multiple cuisine types, which also reduces the company's dependence on any single concept performing well at any given time.

What These Appointments Signal for WOWorks and Its Franchisees

The Walker and Woods appointments send a clear message to both current and prospective franchisees - WOWorks is investing in the leadership structure needed to support serious growth and serious operators. Bringing in someone of Walker's franchise development experience signals that the company has real ambitions for its unit count, while promoting a leader who has walked in franchisees' shoes signals that growth won't come at the expense of the support and execution quality that makes franchise partnerships work.

For operators evaluating the better-for-you fast-casual space as a franchise investment, the combination of a diversified six-brand portfolio, nearly 240 existing locations, and a leadership team being built for scale makes WOWorks worth a closer look.