Marco's Pizza® Inks 10-Unit Area Development Agreement in Northern Virginia

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Feb 21, 2023, 09:24 ET

Trio of Business Partners Act on Investment Opportunity with Nation's Fastest-Growing Pizza Brand* to Expand in Untapped Markets

MANASSAS, Va., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, the nation's fastest-growing pizza brand*, announces a multi-unit signed agreement that will bring 10 stores to Northern Virginia over the next three years. This news comes on the heels of several recent multi-unit agreements across the state in the Reston-Arlington area and Roanoke-Lynchburg markets. Marco's remains on the fast-track for growth, now boasting more than 1,100 stores while achieving record-breaking performance - surpassing $1B in annual systemwide sales.

Business partners CJ Hornbrook, Michael Silberman, and Mike Sontag are the franchisees behind the 10-unit area development agreement. The trio come from diverse backgrounds with a common skillset in management, operations, real estate, and finance. Together, they have the knowledge and expertise to seamlessly grow Marco's from one to 10 stores across the Northern Virginia market. The team is in early stages of site selection across Annadale, Centreville, Haymarket, Manassas, McLean, etc. They aim to open their first two stores in 2023, with all 10 set to be open and operating by early 2026.

"When my partners and I were looking at business opportunities, we were in search of a perfect combination of a quality product and strong growth potential," said Silberman. "Having a close connection to the Marco's brand – knowing the founder Pat Giammarco and family members – it was obvious to me that Marco's met the quality product part of the equation as it is simply unmatched by the competition. Next, we looked at growth potential. After realizing the untapped market potential in Northern Virginia – we knew we had the perfect opportunity to grow the brand in this region."

Marco's franchise expansion continues to surge with more than 200 stores in various stages of development, and more than 350 agreements signed. In 2022, Marco's opened 90-plus stores and awarded 140 franchises. In the last six years, the fast-growth brand has doubled its store footprint and has no intention of slowing down.

Company leadership is prioritizing investments in enhancing the franchise development program, new technology, personnel, strategic vendor partnerships, multi-channel national advertising, and more – all with an eye on maximizing franchisee profits while meeting the needs of today's modern customer.

Nation's Restaurant News Top 500 Report shows Marco's achieved the highest percent year-over-year sales change (+18.2%) when compared to the nation's top 4 pizza brands, making Marco's the No. 5 pizza brand in systemwide sales in America**. Now, Marco's has its sights set on becoming the No. 4 brand in pizza as it experienced a 12.8% increase in year-over-year Average Unit Volume (AUV), and the Top 50% of Marco's franchised stores generated $1,198,201 AUV for 2021***.

With vast whitespace across the country, company leadership has identified 4,200 potential U.S. locations. Marco's provides a full development support system, including technology and tools to help identify the right territories for expansion plus expertise in financing, real estate, construction management, and field operations, to assist franchisees and multi-unit operators.

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or call 866-731-8209 to speak with Shannon Iverson, Vice President of Franchise Sales.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA
Marco's Pizza is one of America's Top 10 Favorite QSR Brands according to the 2022 Market Force Information Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza brand in the United States*. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,100 stores in 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 51 on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2023 "Franchise 500" ranking. Other recent accolades include a high ranking on Newsweek's 2023 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, ranked No. 40 on QSR's Top 50 and has been featured six consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.

*Marco's Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza brand based on year-over-year unit growth, according to 2021 NRN Top 500 U.S. Restaurant Ranking LSR Pizza Segment.

**Marco's is now the 5th largest pizza brand in systemwide sales, according to 2021 NRN Top 500 US Restaurant Ranking LSR Pizza Segment."

***Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2021. Based on fiscal year 2021, 146 of 389 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our current FDD – please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

SOURCE Marco's Pizza