Growing Scooter’s Coffee Taps Joe Thornton as President

To help drive Scooter’s Coffee intentional expansion goals, brand excellence and exceptional franchise support, Joe Thornton has joined the company leadership team as president, a new role at the rapidly growing drive-thru coffee chain.

“Scooter’s Coffee is expanding rapidly, and we are well on our way to opening over 1,000 stores. By the end of 2022, Scooter’s Coffee will have over 600 stores open across 26 states and five distribution centers operating, including our newest in Atlanta. We also have a growing consumer packaged goods and ready-to-drink business with Scooter’s Coffee products in over 1,000 retail locations,” says Todd Graeve, Chief Executive Officer of Scooter’s Coffee. “As we continue to scale a course of rapid growth and deepen connections with our valued customers, we welcome Joe Thornton to our dynamic leadership team at Scooter’s Coffee.”

With more than 38 years of experience in operations, new store expansion, marketing/branding, employee development, franchising, and store optimization, Thornton has led some of the fastest growth companies over the years, including Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Blockbuster and, most recently, HMSHost.

As a Senior Vice President at Starbucks with responsibility of well over 2,000 stores, he led the drive-thru team at Starbucks with a focus on speed. As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for HMSHost, Thornton led more than 1,500 food and beverage locations in North America, partnered with more than 300 brands and engaged more than 30,000 associates across HMSHost restaurants. At Jamba Juice, Thornton was Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer where he led strong business optimization and sales based on speed, taste and friendliness.

As founder of Vizzionnary Brands, Joe consulted with businesses and authored two books: “The Power of Or: Choosing and Doing What Matters Most,” released in 2020, and “The Hostility of Change: Breaking Through Deep-Seated Barriers,” published in 2021.

“In the midst of a rapid growth season, Joe and our outstanding leadership team will continue to build lasting relationships and uphold the manner in which we want to conduct business and deliver an excellent customer experience … through our core values and brand promise,” says Graeve.  “We look forward to continuing to provide amazing drinks along with fast and friendly service to our loyal and new customers.”