Hamra has impacted my life as I originally applied to the Burlington Panera cafe in May of 2022 for a summer job after finishing my freshman year of college. I ended up loving the job and continuing to work part-time when my classes resumed that September. Throughout the next two years I was promoted to Team Lead, Shift Supervisor, and Team Manager. Then, in September of 2024, right before finishing my college degree in December of 2024, I had the opportunity to step into a catering sales role. This role has been a great opportunity for me as a start to my career. I have been able to learn a lot and continue to do so everyday. I am grateful that I have been able to turn a part-time job to make extra money during college into a full-time career through Hamra.
Jack is a Catering Sales Representative in Boston, MA.
Before joining Hamra, I worked for another Panera franchise. The difference was like night and day. The family atmosphere at Hamra made the job truly enjoyable. Within my first month, I had the opportunity to meet Mike Hamra personally. As I grew with the company, they introduced the Hero Fund, which has helped me through difficult times on three separate occasions.
The family-oriented culture has kept me here and happy all these years. I’ve built wonderful relationships throughout my time with Hamra. I’ve always felt valued, and I hope I’ve made others feel the same way. Hamra is a one-of-a-kind company that I’m proud to be part of. Cheers to 50 years!”
Valerie is the General Manager at Panera Bread in Aurora, IL.
Summers with Sam and June. I first met Sam and June Hamra about two years after I started my career in 1999. Up until then, I associated myself and my role as one of a Panera manager. After meeting them for the first time, and, of course, after meeting many others on the Hamra team, my view of who I was working for completely shifted and I started to see glimpses of a great company owned by a warm and caring family. That was only the beginning of what became a very special relationship that blossomed over the years. I will call this memory, Summers with Sam and June. Sounds like a great title for a NY Times best seller, right?
In those times, Sam and June had a regular practice of visiting our growing Chicago Panera market during the summer and we would visit every café over the course of a couple of days. Now looking back, these café tours were much more than your run-of-the-mill store visits to look at real estate, validate operations, etc. but the visits were more like a parade to celebrate our people in the cafes! Up until then, I had never experienced anything like this! Sam and June met hundreds of people during these café visits over the years and if you were observing the interactions from an outside perspective, you would think that Sam and June knew each team member for years! There was a real authenticity and grace in how Sam and June interacted with people on these tours and I did everything that I could to role model that in my career here at Hamra.
We would visit a dozen or more cafes per day and most of us would be tired. However, it was always important to Sam and June to treat a group of us to dinner. I would always try to sit next to them at dinner and my memories of those conversations still resonate to this day. It was always important that we talk about the business and our families but I always took time to learn from the stories that they would share, the people in their lives and the organizations that they supported over the years. These summer visits became a regular event for years to come and the path that I began to see at Hamra was that of a family and not just a business.
Obviously, all good things come to an end and as years went on, the Hamras were not able to continue these summer visits and trips to Chicago were few and far between. However, their presence in the market was more than fulfilled when Mike Hamra joined our Hamra team! As we know, Mike’s contributions here and throughout the organization are profound and his impact has caused an explosion of growth and endless possibilities. Bringing John Addelia to Hamra was also a fulfillment of what Sam and June started. This list of Hamra leaders goes on and on from there, including myself. I, for one, feel that the Hamra Charter, although not created by Sam and June, is a manifestation of what Sam and June started here at Hamra and a representation of the way they lived their lives. .
I am fortunate for my family and the upbringing that I’ve experienced in my life. I’m even more blessed that I’ve been a part of what we’ve created at Hamra! In many ways, I look at Sam and June in the same ways that I do my own parents and in my own way, have grown up here!
Mike Zappala retired on April 1, 2025 after 26 successful years with Hamra Enterprises.
I have had the absolute pleasure of working at both Hamra Wendy’s and Panera Bread.
My story began in 2012 after I graduated with a double degree in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management. Upon my graduation, I opened a restaurant and then a second location a couple of years later, only to be outmatched by big corporations and forced to close shop and file for bankruptcy after five years of business.
I began working for Hamra Enterprises in October of 2017 after my restaurants were closed down. For the first six months of my employment, I was homeless, living out of my car during the winter months while I trained to be an Assistant Manager for Wendy’s. As time passed and I became fully immersed in the Hamra Charter, I had supportive leaders to reach out to, such as Trent Colford, Wendy Buffum, and Jenna Hammond. I began to grow and help others grow until I reached the role of General Manager. In that role, I ran both a Phase 1 and Phase 2 training restaurant and was named one of Wendy’s Top General Managers in the system for four years, which allowed me to train and promote some great individuals.
As time went on, I found love, bought a house, and moved to another town in an attempt to make it work; however, the commute was grueling. I am currently working in the Plymouth location for Boston Bread, and although it is different, it still provides me with the platform to do what I love: teach! I love teaching people how to be good leaders and what can make them great, how to run a restaurant and provide great service for our guests.
I want to take this moment to thank Trent Colford, Wendy Buffum, and, most importantly, Jenna Hammond for not only helping me reach my potential but also saving my life; I will forever be grateful!
Joe is the General Manager in Plymouth, MA.
Working for Hamra has been life changing! I’ve worked for Panera Bread for close to 17 years and Hamra for nearly 2 years. Hamra has given me the tools and the leadership to take on more than I ever thought possible. Hamra has instilled in me a confidence I never knew existed, by believing in me, my cafe, and my staff. Hamra has given me and my cafe the ability grow from within. The hero fund allows all that support it to make a difference in others lives. The ability to help others has been one of the most rewarding and amazing parts of Hamra, it has truly changed my life for the better.
Natalie is the General Manager at the Panera Bread in Metairie, Louisiana.
Hamra gave me a opportunity to give me a chance in my life being a single mom of 2 kids. Ive been at same store for my entire career. I love my guests. Just yesterday a man came in and wanted to meet me because his mother who is now 98 years told him about everytime she would come in. She always wanted us to change our gloves before we made her sandwich and he just wanted to thank me ❤️. We had 27 stores in Missouri when i started.
Cheryl is the General Manager at the Wendy’s in Warrensburg, Missouri
Over my 10 years at Hamra, connecting with guests and colleagues from around the world has been incredibly rewarding. Hearing about their traditions, foods, and cultures has broadened my perspective and made me more empathetic and open-minded.
Hamra has been more than a workplace—it’s been a place of constant learning and genuine connection.
Kelsey is the General Manager at Panera Bread in Needham, MA
I’ve worked at Hamra for almost 9 years now. Prior to working at Hamra i worked for companies that were solely driven by the bottom line and not the people. Coming to Hamra has shown me that investing into the peope who invest into the company on a daily basis is just as important.
Its great to be a part of a company where you feel both valued and welcome. From my beginning days and still today I feel like i’m part of a family. Knowing that they we cherish and nurture relationships is huge for me. Just knowing that from the top down this company is filled with heart and character and not ego means the world to me.
I’ve been a GM for almost 5 years now and I very much operate my store based on my interpretation of our charter along with its core values. We love what we do so we’re always having fun. We cherish and nurture relationships because we are a family. We allow people to be who they are and not pass judgment because we love self expression.
I was hired years ago as a cook and have made my way to now being a GM thats what Discovery looks like. Everything we do works because our integrity allows for workability.
Jerry McDowell is the General Manager at Noodles & Co. in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
I have a different story than most.
I began as a baker with Boston Bread. Worked then as a trainer and after as a BTS(baker training specialist). There were 3 solid managers above me who had been with the company so long… so difficult to see a road for a promotion in the department. But then Chicago Bread came calling. Jay Dykstra then the Regional Bakery Market Manager in Chicago had a spot for me as a Bakery Market Manager. We made the move!
It’s been nearly 11 years and I have been a bakery market manager with Chicago Bread for most of it. For 3 years in the middle I served as Baker training manager overseeing hiring and training development of bakers across the market supporting BMMs and their market needs.
My biggest reason for staying through all these years and changes is the leadership from Mike Hamra and developing the charter.
When it was introduced to us in Boston it really was quite clear to me it was everything I had grown to appreciate of this company but it had given words to it for all of us.
The two values that struck me the most was family and fun. All of our growth and development personally and as a company has been centered around a focus on the charter no matter the brand we represent.
It has unified us in a great way. I’m proud to still be part of Hamra all these almost 18 years later.
Per Skarie is a Bakery Market Manager in Chicago.