Patrick Waldron Leads Development for Einstein Bros. Bagels

Einstein Bros. Bagels, a subsidiary of Bagel Brands, has named Patrick Waldron chief development officer. Waldron’s professional background includes serving in real estate and development roles with Amazon, Save-A-Lot and Lidi. He now modernizes Einstein Bros. Bagels’ development processes and identifies innovative opportunities.

“I was drawn to the strength of the Einstein Bros. Bagel brand, the caliber of the leadership team and the significant whitespace for growth. The chance to bring my experience scaling development programs to a brand with multiple growth channels was especially compelling,” Waldron said. “We can grow through corporate bakeries, franchising, licensing and new formats. I’m excited to build a development engine that drives significant growth while maintaining strong site quality and unit economics.”

Waldron said he’s focusing on fundamentals, such as maintaining strong unit economics, partnering with quality franchise owners and pursuing a disciplined real estate strategy. “For Bagel Brands, the opportunity lies in pairing those fundamentals with smarter market planning, new formats and new types of partnerships.”

Additional appointments to the leadership team include Shawna Fehrman-Lee as chief people officer and Will Evans, chief financial officer. These appointments come as the bagel brand plans to open 300 bakeries over the next three years.

Jessica DePetro, chief executive officer of Einstein Bros. Bagels, praised Waldron and his colleagues as experienced leaders who will help the brand scale. “Their complementary expertise strengthens an already exceptional leadership team and gives us the depth to grow thoughtfully, invest in our teams and bring Einstein Bros. to more communities nationwide,” DePetro said.

Founded in 1995, Einstein Bros. Bagels has a full menu of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, handcrafted coffee, espresso, sweets and catering options. The bagel franchise has grown to more than 700 locations nationwide. Einstein Bros. Bagels is part of the Panera Brands umbrella of fast-casual restaurant franchises, along with Panera Bread and Caribou Coffee.