A concise professional background and personal commitments.
As EVP, Board Member, and Investor at Sticky’s Finger Joint (2021–2024), Paul led a pivotal brand repositioning and operational reset that strengthened unit economics, elevated guest experience, and positioned the urban fast‑casual chain for scalable growth.
Paul G. Tuennerman is a restaurant executive with over 40 years in the hospitality industry. He started in food service as a teenager and progressed into senior leadership roles at brands including Raising Cane’s, Dat Dog, and Sticky’s Finger Joint. He also co‑founded the Tales of the Cocktail festival and has been active on nonprofit boards such as Ronald McDonald House.
After graduating high school, Tuennerman served in the U.S. Navy (1980–1986) in supply and logistics aboard the USS Constellation and at the San Diego Naval Training Center. He earned the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal and a Presidential Citation. Leaving the Navy in 1986, he entered food service full‑time, taking on leadership roles with Service America, Morrison’s Hospitality Group, Wood Dining Services, and The Dunhill Group through the 1990s and early 2000s.
At Piccadilly Cafeterias in Baton Rouge, he served as Vice President for the institutional division (2004–2008), launching Piccadilly Food Services and diversifying the company into schools, healthcare, and government clients. In 2008 he joined Raising Cane’s as Senior Vice President of Business Development (2008–2016), where he helped expand the chain from 7 to 21 states and into the Middle East, building new channels in universities, airports, and stadiums.
From 2018 to 2020, Tuennerman was Chief Executive Officer of Dat Dog, the New Orleans gourmet hot dog and sausage chain. He led operational resets, community partnerships, and expansion planning in the Gulf South and beyond.
Most recently, Tuennerman served as Executive Vice President, Board Member, and Investor at Sticky’s Finger Joint (2021–2024), an urban fast‑casual brand. He led a brand repositioning and operations reset to stabilize unit economics, implemented SOPs and training programs, and built a scalable opening playbook to support new‑market entry while advising the board on capital allocation and franchising priorities.
Tuennerman lives on the Gulf Coast and remains engaged in advising, community service, and select projects in multi‑unit restaurant operations.