It’s All About the People for Tom Sacco, ’75

For the past four years, Tom Sacco has been chief happiness officer, CEO, and president at Dynamic Restaurant Holdings, owner/operators of Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor and Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza. It's a role he seemingly has been preparing for his whole life, beginning at the restaurant and hotel his Italian grandparents owned on Wasaga Beach, just north of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Sacco spent many childhood summers in the kitchen there, learning the importance of taking care of the customers who support your business, as well as your staff and vendors.

After graduating from Niagara University with an accounting degree in 1975, Sacco earned his MBA in finance from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, with the intent to follow his father's encouragement to become an attorney. He attended the University of Detroit Law School for only one semester before he realized that law was not for him. He was married by then and his wife, Gwen, supported his decision to return to the restaurant industry.

Sacco obtained a position in a restaurant management program for Mother Tucker's Food Experience. The restaurant chain was a division of Champs Food Systems, owned by entrepreneur Oscar Grubert.

A turning point in Sacco's career came in the spring of his first year with that company, while working in its corporate training restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Inspired by the example of his grandfather, Sacco decided to enhance the entrance of the restaurant by planting flowers in two beds near the front door's main entrance.

His work was interrupted by an irate gentleman who asked him what he was doing. Sacco explained that he thought more people would come into the restaurant if it looked nice and inviting from the outside.

The man was Oscar Grubert. Impressed with Sacco's vision for running a restaurant, Grubert took Sacco under his wing, sharing industry insights and giving him greater responsibility.

One of those responsibilities came after Sacco was relocated to the newly opened Chez La Mere Tucker location in downtown Montreal, Quebec, where the staff had recently been unionized.

True to his people-first approach, Sacco, who came from a union family, began developing relationships with the employees there.

"There was no magic to it," Sacco said. "It was just remembering what my grandfather had told me about making sure you take care of your employees."

Sacco saw that many of the workers were college students who enjoyed spending time together, so he launched a company broomball team that competed in a local league the first winter he was there. By spring, the workers, who now felt valued and heard by management, voted against the union.

Sacco's next challenge was opening restaurant locations in the United States. As the only American on staff and after the successful turn of events in Montreal, Sacco was promoted to vice president of operations for the U.S. and sent to Scottsdale, Ariz., to establish the first Mother Tuckers location there. Restaurants in Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, and Denver followed. Dallas became his home base and where he began his family, which includes four children.

With hospitality as his guiding principle, Sacco later took on executive positions with other national chain restaurants, including Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shoppes. He was instrumental in the image refresh and franchised growth of Ponderosa Steakhouse & Buffet and Bonanza Family Restaurants, both domestically and internationally. Sacco even ran his own restaurant brand for a while, with locations in Texas, Arizona, and Florida.

After more than 30 years in the business, Sacco retired. But just a few months later, he was contacted by a recruiter with an interesting opportunity: Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor, a well-known Midwestern pizza chain, was looking for a transformational leader to guide the brand's national and international expansion.

As Sacco learned more about the iconic restaurant and its "cult-like" following for its specialty pizzas, including the original taco pizza, he became more intrigued.

"It had a different vibe to it than anything I've been associated with," he said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be with a company that has connected with my soul like this brand has. You never know when and where your greatest career joy and satisfaction will come from."

In October 2020, he was named CEO, chief happiness officer, and president of the chain.

"I deliver smiles across miles!" he said when asked about his role as chief happiness officer. "I create a happy place for our guests, particularly the children; our team members; our vendor partners; and last, but definitely not least, our stakeholders."

Sacco creates these happy places, both domestically and in new markets, including Egypt, with a holistic focus on food, design, technology, and community involvement. He was named a 2023 Top 10 Restaurant Executive by Pizza Marketplace, but he is more interested in being known as a servant-leader than an award-winning restaurateur.

"When you lead with a servant's heart, your primary mission is to take care of others before yourself," he said. "All the things that my grandfather talked to me about as a young child back in the 1960s came to fruition in the 2020s, so it's almost like coming full circle for me. There is no better reward for your work and the effort you put forth than seeing the enjoyment and satisfaction (of the customers). Happy Joe's has created generational magic and continues to create magical memories for our current child guests that last them a lifetime."

Based on his life and professional experiences, Sacco's advice to others, whether junior members of his management team or attendees at the national and international conferences at which he speaks, is to "follow your heart."

"Let your passion for what you love to do drive your career path," he said. "Our careers will span decades. It will pay off in spades with the joy and satisfaction you will bring to your family, your guests, your employees, your vendor-partners, your shareholders, and ultimately, yourself. Enjoy what you do, and if possible, be a servant-leader. It's worth the effort, and it's a wonderfully satisfying journey!"

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