Young Ones to Watch: Colleen Glendinning, Director of Advertising and Media at Toppers Pizza

Prior to becoming both the director of advertising and media and a franchise owner with Toppers Pizza, Colleen Glendinning built her career in the restaurant industry. Since signing on with the brand she has helped it grow by opening four of her own locations throughout Minnesota to share the brand’s unique, customer-focused pizza offerings with Midwesterners.

Colleen Glendinning has over 15 years of experience in the food industry. She spent nine years on the corporate team at Noodles & Co. in advertising media before coming to Toppers as the director of advertising and media. Later, Toppers approached both her husband and her about becoming franchisees.

The restaurant industry is fun and fast-paced, and the pizza industry especially is great. Colleen Glendinning looks at it as a big responsibility to make all those moments extra special. She believes that franchising is really fun because it gives you control and allows you to be the leader of your own destiny.

Colleen Glendinning thinks that people who like to roll up their sleeves and lean in and learn are the best fit for the industry. They should be committed to excellence and put the customer and their teams first — servant leadership. During the pandemic, Toppers was positioned to excel because of their already established delivery service.

A major challenge comes from the consumer’s perception of reality. Colleen Glendinning believes that there are things that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that aren’t always best suited for the restaurant industry. She thinks that helping ensure consumers that they are operating in a safe environment is an ongoing challenge.

Colleen Glendinning advises young up-and-comers in the space to have a high degree of expertise to put people in place that will do their brand justice, be patient and flexible, and embrace change. She also thinks that it’s essential to make sure the executive level values align with yours and to know the communities you serve and what makes them tick. Truly caring about your team and your customers is also crucial.