Troubled fast-casual chain Noodles & Co. on Wednesday said it has terminated its chief operations officer, Victor Heutz.
The one-line announcement in a Securities and Exchange Commision filing said only that Heutz was terminated “effective immediately.” There was no explanation for the move, or mention of a potential replacement.
“Effective immediately, Victor Heutz has left his role as chief operations officer,” company spokeswoman Danielle Moore said in an email. “We thank Victor for his contributions over the past year and wish him the best on future endeavors.”
Heutz was only hired in July of last year, before CEO Kevin Reddy stepped down at the Denver-based chain. Heutz had been the vice president of U.S. franchise operations at Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.
His departure is only the latest setback for Noodles, which has struggled with weak same-store sales and financial losses. The company recently sold stock to private equity groups L Catterton and Mill Road Capital to help pay for costs associated with the closings of 55 underperforming locations.
The 500-unit company reported a $71.7 million loss in 2016 on revenues of $490 million. Company stock was down 2.5 percent in morning trading on Wednesday.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @jonathanmaze