Franchise and restaurant veteran Gary Price, with more than two decades of experience in senior management positions for leading hospitality and franchise organizations, has been named president of Corner Bakery Cafe.

Price, who will be responsible for overall strategy and growth, joins Corner Bakery Cafe as the rapidly expanding fast-casual brand plans to double its footprint in the U.S. over the next four years through a combination of franchised and company-owned cafes.

“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of Corner Bakery,” Price says. ”This is a tremendous opportunity to lead such a highly regarded brand. There is a strong heritage here and Corner Bakery Cafe is clearly a leader in the fastest-growing segment of the restaurant industry.“

Price joins Corner Bakery Cafe after serving as head of foodservice operations at Pilot Flying J, a national chain of travel centers where he was involved in helping the company grow its revenues from $4 billion to $35 billion.

In that position, he served on franchise advisory boards for several of Pilots’ 12 franchise concepts, which include Subway, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Cinnabon, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Huddle House, and Denny’s.

“Because of my experience as both a franchisee and a franchisor in fast-paced growth environments, I believe I bring a unique perspective to this position,” Price says. “I look forward to the tremendous opportunities we have as we more than double the size of our brand in the next three to four years through both franchise and company development.”

Mike Hislop, Corner Bakery Café CEO, says, “Gary is a dynamic restaurant and franchise executive with more than 20 years of fast-track leadership. He is the perfect person for this position. He brings a strong understanding of franchising and his best-in-class leadership will be invaluable as we move forward with our aggressive expansion goals.”