Toppers pizza wins big by promoting from within

[caption id="attachment_21667" align="alignleft" width="212" caption="Beth Larson"][/caption] They say people make the brand, and for Whitewater, Wisconsin-based Toppers Pizza*, the sentiment has never been more true. Beth Larson, former Franchise Services Manager of Toppers, has recently been promoted to Director of Franchise Legal and Administration at the pizza franchise, but her history with the brand stems back to 1998 when she was hired on as the first office employee ever of the youthful brand. After Toppers founder Scott Gittrich put out an ad in the Whitewater Register for an office assistant, Larson responded, despite her background in banking. Her interview took place at the local McDonald’s. She arrived in business attire due to her career in banking only to find Gittrich in shorts and flip flops. Despite the different dress codes, Larson was immediately taken by his entrepreneurial spirit and vision. “Scott is a real visionary and a phenomenal and ethical person to work with – I saw it right away,” said Larson. “It was apparent he cared about people and he wanted only a good image of his company. More so than the pizza, I knew this was a company that would be there for its employees and opportunities would be available if I worked as hard as I always have.” On the first day on the job the two went out and bought the furniture, computers and supplies for the office. On the second day, she shampooed the carpets. As the brand started growing, Larson’s role as the office assistant evolved and she began taking on new tasks within different departments. Since her hire, Larson has held positions as accounting manager, office manager, and most recently, franchise services manager –some even held simultaneously while the brand grew and found its footing in the franchising industry. “Working with Toppers, I had the opportunity to do everything in the office,” said Larson. “I worked as a receptionist, I worked with accounting, I worked as an admin assistant –the list goes on, but it was an extremely exciting time to be a part of the company.” Gittrich, who has seen the brand grow and make a name for itself in the crowded pizza segment, believes that Larson is the “glue that holds everything together.” [caption id="attachment_21669" align="alignright" width="280" caption="Beth Larson"][/caption] “Beth is a constant professional in addition to being passionate, caring and scrupulous,” said Gittrich. “As we continue to gain momentum, her position in legal will be a vital task when working with leasing agents, third party attorneys, our development staff and real estate brokers to properly oversee our organization.” Since Larson started 17 years ago, Toppers’ footprint consisted of four locations –two owned by Gittrich and two licensed restaurants. Since then, the brand has grown to more than 30 corporate employees and 65 locations in 11 states.