Jay Wainwright

Chief Executive Officer

Jay founded Cosi in 1995. Between 1995 and 2004 he served variously as President, Chairman, and CEO opening 110+ restaurants.. In 1994, Jay and his brother Shep discovered a small sandwich shop in Paris. Taken with everything from the food to the casually friendly nature of the place, they recognized that Cosi offered something unusual. Unknowingly, they had identified the need for the fast casual segment in the restaurant industry. 

In 2005, Jay joined Le Pain Quotidien when it had 60 units and helped it grow  to over 230. He led the international franchise expansion, managed day to day operations of the company-owned units in the US, managed the finance team and oversaw real estate and development.  In 2016 Jay left LPQ  and now owns and runs Seamore’s.  His passion is ocean health and creating a better way to source seafood sustainably.