When Haley Lueth touched down at the newest Happy Joe’s Pizza restaurant in Egypt, ready to start working with franchisees, she couldn’t help but think back to her days as a cook for the brand in high school.
The Midwestern-born pizza and ice cream concept, known for its family-friendly atmosphere, was Lueth’s first job at 16. She says they originally wanted her to be a server—a role more common for girls—but she protested. The idea of working as a chef is what initially drew her to hospitality. After being hired as a cook, she quickly learned the tricky dynamics inside of a kitchen.
“They asked me if I was sure about working in the back of the house, and I told them it’s what I wanted to do,” Lueth says. “The people working back there with me had their doubts. I felt like I had a target on my back because I was the youngest cook, and I was a female. But I got my hands dirty, shone under pressure, and earned their respect.”
Lueth thrived in the fast-paced environment, often taking the lead during Friday night dinner rushes. Even in those early days at Happy Joe’s, she considered herself operations-driven—a skill she still utilizes today to bridge the gap between the brand and franchisees.
She was promoted to a kitchen mentor, and on her 18th birthday, she became a shift coach, steadily climbing the ladder. Lueth worked 40 hours a week during high school, eventually graduating with her diploma and a new position as assistant manager. She later moved into the role of general manager and head coach.
Lueth credits her success at Happy Joe’s to her longtime mentor Ashley Balluff, who taught her how to apply the company’s core values in both her professional and personal life.
“When a job is giving you the foundation and teaching you the values you want to learn, it’s easy to work those hours and maintain balance,” Lueth says. “Balluff instilled Happy Joe’s values in me and encouraged me to build myself as a person outside of work, too.”
Now, it’s Lueth’s turn to mentor others. As head coach, she ran one of the two certified company training locations and spent several years building a team, hiring more girls to work in the kitchen.
“I realized if I did it, other girls could too. They don’t need to be just out front as servers,” Lueth says. “They can do a great job in the kitchen as well. I tell them not to take crap from anybody, and I hold them to that standard.”
After spending 14 years with the brand and being awarded the 2022 Operator of the Year title, Lueth joined the corporate team as a franchise business consultant in July 2024. In a press release, the brand said this strategic hire would aid in supporting its 34 current franchised units and guiding future locations down the pipeline.
Lueth is currently traveling around the country and leading Happy Joe’s international franchising efforts, working to improve restaurant performance through consistent standards, streamlined operations, and monitoring financial metrics. More importantly, she views herself as the living embodiment of the brand’s values as she meets with franchisees.
“One of our core values is leading with a servant’s heart and a warrior spirit, and I want our franchisees to know that I’ll go to bat for them. I want to be the bridge connecting the franchise support center, corporate office, and store owners,” Lueth says. “I’ve been in their shoes and gone through the same hardships they have. They know they can trust me when I say the people in the corporate office care about them.”
Lueth is eager to grow in her role and push the brand’s expansion forward. If franchisees are successful, then she will be, too. She’s ambitious—saying the C-suite is not out of the question for her.
“My experience [as a franchise consultant] is teaching me to be more open-minded, and I’m looking forward to it,” Lueth says. “I’m very systematic—I ate, slept, and breathed the same Happy Joe’s location for 14 years. In this new role, I’m exposed to other stores and seeing how they do things. I’m at our Egypt restaurant right now, and I’m learning the different ways we can all get to the same finish line successfully. It’s been an experience learning how to adjust my thought process and be open to change.”
