A 25-year restaurant industry veteran has a new mandate at one of fast casual's fastest-growing burger-and-custard chains. Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has promoted Rick Petralia to Executive Chef and Vice President of Training & Innovation, combining culinary strategy with oversight of the brand's flagship training and media resource teams in a single elevated role.
The Scope of the Role
Petralia joined Freddy's in 2022 as Director of Menu Strategy & Innovation, where he led culinary development for both core menu items and limited-time offers. In his expanded role, he will continue driving menu strategy while also directing the training infrastructure that supports Freddy's more than 580 franchise locations across the United States and Canada. The pairing of culinary and training responsibilities under one VP reflects a broader franchising trend: operators increasingly want menu architects who understand the realities of unit-level execution, not just product development.
Before Freddy's, Petralia served as director of culinary innovation for a fast-casual Italian chain operating more than 200 locations — experience that gave him fluency in the supply chain, franchisee economics, and multi-unit training challenges that shape restaurant operations at scale. He holds an MBA from Hult International Business School and is a certified executive chef.
Why It Matters for Franchisees
Chris Dull, Freddy's President & CEO, pointed directly to the franchisee angle in explaining the promotion. "His extensive experience in operations and his focus on profitable menu solutions mean he understands the challenges franchisees face and is dedicated to providing the training and resources needed to best equip our restaurant teams," Dull said. That framing signals that Petralia's dual portfolio is intentional: the brand wants its culinary direction and its field-facing training apparatus synchronized under leadership that can translate creative ambition into operational reality.
For a 580-plus-unit system still in active growth mode — Freddy's ranked No. 6 on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers + Shakers and No. 85 on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 — the quality and consistency of training programs is a direct driver of guest experience and same-store performance. Elevating the training function to VP-level and linking it to the culinary team suggests Freddy's is investing in the infrastructure needed to sustain that growth without sacrificing food quality. Industry observers tracking fast-casual menu innovation and franchisee support models will note that this structural choice mirrors moves by other scaling chains looking to tighten the gap between corporate culinary vision and what actually lands on the tray.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
