By Tracy Morin
Seattle-based Tutta Bella announced Cate Hardy has been named its new CEO. Hardy, a seasoned food and beverage CEO with a record of growth and innovation, joins the Neapolitan pizza pioneer as it continues its expansion into the national consumer packaged goods (CPG) market.
The brand said Hardy has been brought in to specifically lead the company as it continues its rapid growth through major national grocery and retail partnerships. Meanwhile, founder Joe Fugere will transition to a new role focusing on stewarding the brand’s culture, building and nurturing key external relationships and supporting long-term strategic growth.
“This transition represents both a personal milestone and a strategic step forward for our company,” Fugere says. “When I opened the first Tutta Bella restaurant in 2004, I never imagined that our pizzas would be sold nationwide to customers seeking the highest quality authentic Neapolitan pizzas at home. Now that Tutta Bella pizzas are available in over 1,000 grocery and club stores nationwide—in addition to our five Seattle-area restaurants—it is the right time to transition leadership of the company to an executive with the demonstrated experience to lead Tutta Bella in its continued rapid national growth and expansion. Cate’s track record of driving growth at premium food and beverage businesses brings exactly the expertise Tutta Bella needs to continue scaling our brand nationwide without compromising the quality and tradition that defines us.”
The company notes that Hardy brings a blend of demonstrated leadership across multiple facets of food and beverage that will be immediately impactful as she leads Tutta Bella. She comes to the role with more than 20 years of experience in senior executive roles and national board positions spanning CPG, grocery and casual dining, which uniquely positions her to lead the company through its next phase of growth and national expansion.
Most recently, she served as president and chief operating officer of Seattle Hospitality Group, overseeing a portfolio of iconic Pacific Northwest food, beverage and transportation businesses. Previously, Hardy served as CEO of The Wine Group (TWG), a CPG company and the second-largest wine producer in the United States, with annual production of 50 million cases and 1,200 employees.
Prior to TWG, she was CEO of PCC Community Markets, the nation’s largest cooperative grocery chain, where she led a transformation of the business, resulting in revenue growth of more than 50% during her five years of leadership.
While working at Starbucks, she spent nearly a decade in senior roles across retail operations, store development, supply chain and product development. Her early career was spent at McKinsey & Company and Deloitte.
Hardy currently serves on the boards of WX Brands and Kitchen & Market, and formerly served on the boards of Suja Life, Crunch Fitness and Ballast Point Brewing.
“Joe has built something extraordinary—a brand rooted in tradition that has evolved from a single Seattle pizzeria into a national leader in authentic Neapolitan pizza,” Hardy says. “With a talented team, a proven restaurant and retail model, and growing consumer demand for high-quality prepared foods, Tutta Bella is perfectly positioned for accelerated growth. I’m excited and honored to lead the company in its next chapter.”
This leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment for Tutta Bella, which has recently launched its fresh, authentic ready-to-heat pizzas in more than 1,000 Kroger stores and Costco warehouses nationwide.
Found in the refrigerated deli section, Tutta Bella is one of the few restaurant-origin brands to successfully expand into national grocery retail while preserving its focus on artisan quality. This reflects Fugere’s entrepreneurial vision since opening Seattle’s first VPN-certified Neapolitan pizzeria in 2004.
Today, Tutta Bella owns and operates five neighborhood restaurants, two grocerants, plus a café, a bar and a food truck. Tutta Bella’s CPG pizzas are made by hand in a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Seattle’s SoDo district, then distributed to retail locations nationwide. The company employs approximately 400 people and has doubled its annual revenue since 2020, reflecting steady growth as it expands nationally.
“We’ve spent the last two decades building something special, rooted in tradition but never standing still,” Fugere says. “As we step into this next chapter, I’m confident that Cate’s leadership will help us grow with both intention and ambition. We’re focused on bringing the premium quality of Tutta Bella to households nationwide via their favorite grocers, and I can’t think of a better person to lead us on that journey than Cate.”
