---
title: "Donna Coupe Joins 16 Handles as Vice President of Training"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/5027f19f-d14d-4197-aa92-f83cce6c8fcf
source: "Franchise Wire"
original_url: https://www.franchisewire.com/donna-coupe-joins-16-handles-as-vice-president-of-training/
author: "Haley Cafarella"
category: "Snacks & dessert"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Snacks & dessert"
topics: ["People","Operations"]
published: 2026-04-20T19:30:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T14:57:59.523Z
image: https://www.franchisewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Donna-Coupe-1.jpg
---

# Donna Coupe Joins 16 Handles as Vice President of Training

**TL;DR:** Donna Coupe has joined 16 Handles as Vice President of Training, bringing over three decades of experience from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. 16 Handles is experiencing strong growth, having opened eight locations and signed 25 franchise agreements in 2025, and expanding its development pipeline in 2026.

*By Haley Cafarella, originally published in Franchise Wire on 2026-04-20. [Read the original](https://www.franchisewire.com/donna-coupe-joins-16-handles-as-vice-president-of-training/).*

## Story

Coupe brings more than three decades of experience from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise, where she built the training program from the ground up. In that role, she developed a dedicated training center with a classroom and mock store that enabled franchisees to get hands-on experience. “Combined with classroom instruction, this approach gave franchisees a strong foundation as they prepared to open their stores,” Coupe said, adding that she’s excited to bring that same approach to 16 Handles.

Coupe joins the leadership team amid 16 Handles’ strong growth in 2025. The company opened eight locations and signed 25 franchise agreements. Several stores broke grand opening day sales records. Since the start of 2026, 16 Handles has also expanded its development pipeline with new agreements in Texas, Rhode Island, Georgia, Connecticut, Illinois and New York. The brand also expanded its leadership team by hiring Patti Carr as vice president of operations.

Neil Hershman, CEO of 16 Handles, said Coupe and her colleague will help the frozen yogurt franchise maintain its momentum. “Patti and Donna are proven franchise operators who know how to build scalable systems, develop high-performing teams and protect the guest experience so that every new store opens strong and stays strong,” Hershman said.

16 Handles became the first self-serve frozen yogurt shop in New York City when it opened its first store in the East Village in 2008. Since then, the frozen yogurt brand has expanded to 40 locations with a menu that includes 16 rotating soft-serve flavors, 50-plus toppings and sauces, and frozen novelties, such as cakes, take-home pints and DŌ gourmet edible cookie dough.

Its recent limited-edition flavor launches include french fry, salted butter, strawberry kefir, butter beer and keto chocolate brownie, alongside classic vanilla, cookies and cream and original tart.

## Entities

- QSR (sector)
- franchise growth (topic)
- leadership team (topic)
- Franchise Wire (publication)
- Haley Cafarella (person)
- training program (topic)
- frozen yogurt (topic)
- 16 Handles (company)
- Neil Hershman (person)
- new hires (topic)
- Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (company)
- Donna Coupe (person)

---
Originally reported by Haley Cafarella, Franchise Wire (https://www.franchisewire.com/donna-coupe-joins-16-handles-as-vice-president-of-training/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5027f19f-d14d-4197-aa92-f83cce6c8fcf).