Drew Kellogg became fast-casual Oath Pizza’s CEO after nearly a decade in leadership roles at Chipotle Mexican Grill. Oath’s CMO Stacie Colburn Hayes spent five years in marketing with the burrito giant.
But while so many fast-casual pizza concepts pitched themselves as the “Chipotle of pizza,” that’s not what Oath is doing, Kellogg said.
“We’re not going to be the Chipotle of pizza,” he said. “We’re going to be Oath Pizza.”
There are some notable similarities, however.
“Chipotle’s idea was to change the way people eat and think about fast food,” Colburn Hayes said. “The same applies here.”
Oath calls itself “100% feel-good pizza,” with crusts seared in avocado oil, organic toppings, housemade sauces, and plenty of vegan and gluten-free choices.
Like Chipotle’s burritos and bowls, Oath’s pizzas are topped in a down-the-line fashion.
“We wanted to emulate a lot of the principles and tenets and have a high affinity for the quality of ingredients,” Kellogg said.
Boston-based Oath started in 2015. Kellogg and Colburn Hayes joined a few years later, as the concept began to expand. Today, it has eight company-owned stores, plus 22 non-traditional and franchised units, largely through its partnership with Aramark—the concept’s first franchisee.
Fast-casual pizza was the hot segment a decade or so ago when concepts such as PizzaRev and Blaze Pizza got their start. In the years since, however, most fast-casual pizza chains have struggled to compete against quick-service chains with their advanced technology and efficient delivery models.
Sales in the fast-casual pizza sector declined by 11.5% last year, according to Restaurant Business sister firm Technomic, while quick-service pizza chains grew more than 5%.
Oath, however, has high hopes for its concept and business model. It is getting ready to embark on a major franchising push.
Its operations, both for traditional restaurants and university food hall locations, are streamlined to allow for small footprint units, Kellogg said.
Oath’s crusts are all mixed, kneaded, stretched and grilled in a commissary before being shipped to the restaurants.
“The commissary does all the artistry of hand stretching, grilling and searing,” he said. “It’s a very labor-intensive process, so taking that out of the restaurants provides consistency and allows us to run a lighter labor model.”
Toppings and sauces are all prepped in the restaurants.
Most Oath units are around 800- to 1,200-square-feet with teams of just two to three workers per shift.
Aramark selected Oath because of those efficiencies, as well as its commitment to high-quality ingredients, Colburn Hayes said.
“They picked Oath because of our efficient business model and availability to open in any space,” she said. “And Gen Z is hyper-focused on companies going good in the world and offering higher quality ingredients. It really fits the mold for what younger consumers are looking for.”
Just before the pandemic, Oath implemented a host of tech upgrades, including online and app-based ordering, as well as a loyalty program and CRM system.
The chain quickly rolled out curbside pickup and flipped from 60% dining room business with 40% off-premise to the reverse, Kellogg said. Oath signed on with Goldbelly for nationwide shipping.
Oath is now ramping up its franchising efforts. Kellogg said he is “optimistic and seeing interested parties.”
Said Colburn Hayes, “We benefit from a model that doesn’t require a ton of people to operate it. It doesn’t require restaurant experience.”
“Chipotle’s culture is very people-focused,” she said. “We came from a background of understanding restaurants and restaurant teams are the most important. That’s ingrained in our makeup.”