Dive Brief:
- Velvet Taco has hired Chris Schultz as CEO, the company said in a Wednesday press release. He succeeds Clay Dover, who stepped down in November after eight years. Schultz has been CEO since some point in November, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Schultz has over 30 years of restaurant experience and most recently spent eight years as CEO of Voodoo Doughnut, leading the brand’s expansion into new markets.
- Under Schultz’s leadership, the fast casual taco chain, which has over 50 units in eight states, will continue expanding into key markets and explore non-traditional unit development in venues like airports, the company said.
Dive Insight:
Schultz will oversee Velvet Taco’s international and domestic growth while focusing on operations, innovation and improving the guest experience, the press release said. The company opened its first international restaurant in the United Kingdom last month. Velvet Taco has grown by a significant proportion in the last few years, expanding from about 40 units in 2022 to over 50 in 2025.
This year, Velvet Taco has focused on menu expansion, adding Velvet Bowls in April as part of its “biggest menu innovation since the brand’s 2011 founding,” according to a press release. The bowls are a tortilla-free menu item and include five protein options: rotisserie chicken, steak, crispy tenders, shrimp and barbacoa-style brisket. This added to the company’s menu of over 20 tacos and its Weekly Taco Feature, which showcases a new limited-time taco each week.
Schultz worked at Mod Pizza for about nine years as senior vice president of operations. During that time, he helped grow the company from one location to over 350 across the country, per the release. He spent 13 years at Starbucks, where he helped improve development and operations as the chain expanded globally.
