Ray Wiley grew up on the West Coast and cut his teeth in the restaurant business during the early years of Pizza Hut when his father owned several stores. Food was in his blood at that point and he became store manager for concepts such as Pepperoni Express, Domino’s, and Skyline. Supervision of 10 Skyline Chili stores in Columbus Ohio ended up bringing Ray to Dayton in 1989. Ray purchased his first Subway that year and was named Regional Franchisee of the year in 2002, owning as many 15 stores. Throughout his career, Wiley was known for his entrepreneurial spirit, practical leadership style and deep commitment to franchisees and restaurant operators.
In 2007, after studying the Mexican restaurant sector, Ray came up with the idea for Hot Head Burritos in 2007. The focus of Hot Head Burritos has always been fresh food full of customizable flavor. Ray and his partners own 14 of the 70+ Hot Head stores. Hot Head Burritos was named to Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers and Shaker’s list in 2012 at number 36, 2018 at number 57, and in 2019 at number 61. Hot Head was recognized in Dayton Business Journal’s Top 100 Companies in 2018 at number 67, in 2019 at 57, number 58 in 2020.
In September of 2015, the first store of his next creation, Rapid Fired Pizza, opened and currently has 30+ stores. Ray and his partners own 11 of the 30+ Rapid Fired Pizza stores. Rapid Fired Pizza was the first restaurant in Ohio to add the I-Pour-It self serve alcohol system. In 2021 Rapid Fired Pizza LLC was aquirred by Pie Guys Restaurants LLC — a South Carolina-based company led by Mike Kern and Chip Hurst, who co-own and operate Rapid Fired locations in Spartanburg, Greenville and Easley, S.C. Wiley continued as a licensee, operating locations in Ohio “as a testament to his continued belief in the brand,”
Effective immediately, Kelly Gray, co-owner and longtime corporate vice president, will assume the role of president. Peter Wiley will serve the company as vice president.
“Ray built Hot Head Burritos from the ground up with an incredible amount of passion, grit and vision,” said Kelly Gray, president and co-owner of Hot Head Burritos. “More importantly, he built a culture centered around people. He cared deeply about our franchisees, employees and guests, and he created opportunities for so many people across this system. His impact on this brand and the restaurant industry will continue for many years to come.”
“Right now, our focus is on supporting the family, our employees and our franchise community while continuing the work Ray cared so deeply about,” Gray added.
The Hot Head Mexican Grill & Cantina in Centerville opens on Monday with the first 250 burrito’s free starting at 4pm. And if you can’t make that, they’ll give away another 250 on Tuesday morning starting at 10:30am.
As you move down the line you can create your own burrito, bowl or taco, making it mild with teriyaki chicken, pork verde or classic chicken or go wild with jalapeno ranch spicy steak, spicy chicken or mango habanero barbacoa. Continue to add rice, beans, banana peppers, onions, peppers, lettuce salsa, guacamole, queso or cheese.
Prefer hard liquor? That’s on tap as well. Choose from Patron or Sauza Tequila, Tito’s Vodka, Bacardi Rum or Crown Royal. You can pour up to 6 ounces of the hard stuff and then use the Pepsi Spire machine if you need a mixer.
