Franchising

Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream managers become franchisees

Heather Avery, CEO Tom Sacco and Leslie Boynton. Provided.

November 17, 2022

Two former Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream managers are the brand's new franchisees, according to a press release.

Leslie Boynton and Heather Avery have a combined 18 years of leadership and supervisory experiences. Boynton will take over operations at a new location in Galesburg, while Avery will continue the brand's presence as the new owner and operator in Kewanee.

"We are so honored to have veteran Happy Joe's management take over our two Illinois locations," Tom Sacco, CEO and chief happiness officer, said in the press release. "They truly understand our business and have the passion to create a fun family atmosphere that brings smiles to the community every day. We look forward to the future of Happy Joe's with them and plan to continue our expansion across the state soon."

Boynton brings a total of eight years of experience with Happy Joe's from her start as an assistant manager and has served as the store's general manager for the past two years. She trained at the Eldridge, Iowa location and credits the interactions she, her team and customers had with Founder Joe Whitty and Sacco's support as her motivation for wanting a Happy Joe's location of her own.

"Every day for the past eight years I've been grateful to be part of inspiring so many smiles from our valued guests and community members," Boynton said in the press release. "I adored Happy Joe's founder and learned a lot from watching how he treated people. I want to ensure everyone who comes into our Galesburg location feels the same way Joe made everyone feel –welcomed, taken care of, and happy!"

Avery started off as a server at age 14, worked her way up to be a shift coach at age 26 and then was promoted to general manager. She believes hard work and dedication pays off and, as a Happy Joe's franchisee, wants to serve as an inspiration for young women to follow their dreams. A memorial will be made in the Kewanee Happy Joe's restaurant in honor of Heather's former supervisor, Robert Plum, who served as her mentor and passed away last year.

"I'm excited to show my children that it's possible to be a strong female owning a business while balancing a family, homework and play dates," Avery said in the press release. "While working at Happy Joe's, I learned the value of good customer service and how to treat people well. I am beyond honored to be a franchisee for a company that makes people happy and contributes to the community."