Parker’s Kitchen has new leaders at the helm.
Brandon Hofmann (pictured left), who previously was president, was named CEO in March, replacing founder Greg Parker (pictured center), transitioned to executive chairman. John Rudolfs (pictured right), who previously was the retailer’s chief development officer, was named president and CFO.
Hofmann, who spoke to CSP before the leadership transition took effect, said that in his and Rudolfs’ new positions for the Savannah, Georgia-based retailer, their mutual goals will center around several key areas to drive growth, improve operations and enhance customer satisfaction.
“We will do this all through the lens of our core four: best place to work, growing store profits, new store growth and charitable giving,” Hofmann said.
By focusing on these areas, Hofmann and Rudolfs aim to create a customer-first, efficient convenience store chain that leads the market, adapts to trends and supports the local community while being profitable and growing.
Founded in 1976 as a one-store operation in Midway, Georgia, Parker’s Kitchen now employs more than 1,600 people at over 80 locations throughout Georgia and South Carolina.
One thing Parker’s prides itself on is being the absolute best place to work in America, Hofmann said. We are a high-growth organization, and our people are the key to our growth, he said.
Parker Co.’s is No. 86 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
“We are building 25 stores per year and employing 25 employees per store, so we are hiring 625 employees every year for new locations,” Hofmann said.
One of the best recruiting and retention tools that Parker’s has is providing opportunities for growth within the company at both the store and corporate level, he said.
Continuing to define foodservice and convenience, Hofmann said the company is leaning into ways to improve its fresh food program.
“Our proprietary smart kitchen technology allows us to do predictive forecasting based on the needs of each of our individual kitchens,” he said. “We have the ability to forecast with 95% accuracy the number of chicken tenders we will sell in 15-minute increments throughout the day.”
As the company settles into 2025, growth continues to be a priority, Rudolfs said, adding it plans to enter the Florida market.
“To grow successfully, it takes years to develop the requisite platform to expand strategically,” he said. “We now have all the pieces in place, which is why our growth has substantially accelerated in recent years.”
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