Two months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Italian quick-service brand Sbarro Inc. tapped turnaround veteran James Greco as its new president and chief executive.

Greco served most recently as chief executive of the Bruegger’sbagel chain and co-chief executive of parent company Le Duff America. Credited with reversing the fortunes of the Burlington, Vt.-based chain after taking over in 2003, Greco says he will implement similar plans at the struggling Melville, N.Y.-based Sbarro.

The company, which has about 1,013 units in 40 countries, is now owned by a group of 30 investors, of which the largest is Stone Tower Capital in New York.

Fast Facts
HOMETOWN: Boynton Beach, Fla.
EDUCATION: Georgetown University, B.A., economics; University of Miami, J.D.
PERSONAL: married, two sons
EXPERIENCE: Natural Country Farms, chief operating officer; Fieldbrook Foods, chief executive; Bruegger’s Inc., president, chief executive; Sbarro Inc., president, chief executive

Sbarro emerged from Chapter 11 in November. What are the key challenges facing the company today?

The key challenges are to improve our food quality and to redefine brand positioning and to refresh the appearance of our eateries. We need to focus on the four Ps — people, place, product and positioning.

Do you see any similarities between Sbarro now and Bruegger’s when you took over there in 2003?

Yes, there are many similarities. Bruegger’s also was a company that suffered under too much debt, like Sbarro. And in both cases the debt load was a distraction for management. It limited what management was able to do. Product innovation was lacking, and there was no money for renovation, no money for marketing.

How did you deal with that at Bruegger’s?

We focused on the four Ps. From the beginning, we worked to implement strategies to address all four categories. In the case of Bruegger’s, we improved the quality of our offerings, added new offerings, improved procedures with which we delivered those offerings. We also conducted research and synthesized that research into a brand positioning that guided our marketing and other decisions we made.

Do you plan to take the sameapproach at Sbarro?

Yes. We came up with new unit design at Bruegger’s, and we’ll do the same thing [at Sbarro]. Then, we worked on brand positioning. We told everyone about the changes we had made in our products and appearance. We focused on how our people interact with guests and adopted a hospitality mentality. We focused on how to recruit, hire and train to make sure we have folks who understand the hospitality mentality. We’ll do all of that here.

Can you talk about your near-term plans for Sbarro?

In the near term there will be a noticeable improvement in our pizza. Also, there will be tests underway soon with regard to our pasta — and that will be a quantum leap from what we’re doing now. We also will be putting new procedures in place to handle our food. We will improve the consistency of the experience.

In the past, Sbarro called itself a quick-service chain. However, you’ve called it fast casual. Are you planning to move the brand in that direction?

We think that the food, by its nature, is more in line with fast casual than quick service, and the improvements we implement will make that even clearer. And with those improvements to food and service and the environment, we think in the relatively near term, we will be positioned as the pre-eminent Italian fast-casual brand.

Any changes planned for service?

The way we interact with guests will change. People will still order at the counter and take food with them — that won’t change. But the way the line works may change a bit.

Are you planning to step up growth?

We are still building units, but we’re also culling underperformers. We have 1,013 units — about the same as we’ve had for a while. My guess for the first year is that we will not be ramping up growth. We’ll be focusing on the four Ps. But after that, when the culling is done, you’ll start to see a modest but increasing growth in the number of units.

Contact Paul Frumkin at paul.frumkin@penton.com.