Pizza

Emerging Brands

How Tony Gemignani is growing an agnostic pizza empire

In an increasingly polarized world, Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco is a place where the most rabid fans of New York, Roman, Detroit or any other style of pizza can dine together. It's an idea owner Tony Gemignani plans to grow with Slice House.

Operations

Pizza Hut goes after the traditional fast-food market with its latest prototype

The chain is testing a new restaurant design with a drive-thru, kiosks and mobile order pickup stations. The location also features a “Hut ‘N Go” menu with items ready to go.

The restaurant in downtown Boston will offer the full-service chain’s signature brick-oven pizza and other items for takeout and dine-in.

Yorgo Koutsogiorgas is leaving the Chicago deep-dish pizza chain after 13 years. His replacement is Portillo’s CMO Nick Scarpino, a fellow longtime Chicagoan.

The 13-unit fast-casual chain in Arizona was overleveraged. The restructuring will likely include the closure of underperforming locations.

The Los Angeles-based fast-casual pizza concept adds to the platform company's more than 15-brand franchise portfolio.

The casual-dining pizza chain hopes to add about 75 domestic locations via franchising over the next five years starting with an operator in Nevada.

The Bottom Line: Major pizza brands like Domino’s, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut are trading share with independents. And fast-casual brands are in decline. The sector has a smaller market, thanks to third-party delivery.

The fast-food pizza chain’s same-store sales fell 7% in the third quarter as new CEO Todd Penegor says the company is “acting with urgency” to strengthen the business. The company also made some management changes.

The fast-casual pizza chain, which has been mired in an investor lawsuit, is liquidating what’s left of its business. But some franchisee-owned locations remain.

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