Bob Zanolli has replaced President and CEO E. Thomas Dowling in the top position at the 52-year-old Santa Ana chain.
Zanolli, 51, of Laguna Niguel, had been with Winchell’s for about a year, but took the helm in July after Dowling stepped down because he wanted to spend more time with his family in New Hampshire. In September, Zanolli was given the title general manager, but it is expected that the formal title of president is forthcoming.
A former executive with Irvine-based Koo Koo Roo Inc., Zanolli was contacted by a recruiter to consider a position as vice president of strategic growth for Winchell’s in November 1999.
“I was interested in the brand because I was familiar with Krispy Kreme coming into the marketplace and saw that Winchell’s had developed its new warm and fresh concept and was very forward thinking,” he said. “The brand was not just sitting back.”
Under Zanolli, the 210-unit chain, which stretches up West Coast to Alaska and east to Nebraska, is undergoing a remodeling program that will tap into the company’s 1950s roots with a black and white retro look to be debuted at its new La Habra store. The company owns and operates 140 stores and franchises another 70 locations.
“We are taking the history of this 52-year company and incorporating it into a more current 2001 look,” he said.
At KooKooRoo, a subsidiary of Irvine-based Prandium Inc., Zanolli saw the company grow from six stores to 45 stores. Prior to that he was with Acapulco Restaurants from 1986 to 1995 where he worked his way up from a regional manger to vice president of operations for the last eight years.
“Our goal at Winchell’s is to be the best doughnut house in America,” Zanolli said.
