Rico Imbrogno never intended to get into the restaurant business, at least until he needed one.
Imbrogno is a carpenter by trade who made a living in construction. And over the years he dabbled into entrepreneurship. He once bought a Honda-Suzuki dealership out of bankruptcy. He then bought and renovated buildings.
It was one such building that had empty space in Stamford, Connecticut, perfect for a restaurant. One day someone with a pizza recipe walked in and suggested an idea for a pizza concept. And that’s how Riko’s Pizza was born.
“I had empty space,” Imbrogno said, “and I had to put something in it.”
Fast-forward a few years, and the tavern-style pizza chain has 12 locations and an intent to get a lot bigger than that. This week, the company named former BurgerFi CEO Carl Bachmann its president and chief operating officer. He officially takes the job on Monday.
As part of the move, Riko’s cofounder Luigi Cardillo, who had been head of operations, was named chief financial and technology officer. Former CFO Robert Funari was named chief administrative officer, and Dawn Imbrogno was named chief human resources officer. Rico Imbrogno remains the CEO.
“I fell in love with the brand and, frankly, Rico himself,” Bachmann said. “I think at this point in my career, I just wanted to work with somebody who had passion and integrity and just excitement about a brand.”
“When you get to a point in your career,” he added, “you decide the most important thing is the people you work with, and Rico’s got this incredible brand.”
Riko's locations have full bars and a lot of televisions.
Riko’s is known for its thin-crust pizzas in a full-service format with a full bar, taking advantage of growing consumer interest in tavern-style pizza. Most of the chain’s sales come through takeout, however, making it something of a hybrid concept.
Its menu features some unusual varieties, including its signature Hot Oil pizza, a cheese pizza topped with spicy housemade oil and a batch of stinger peppers. But customers can get sweet pickles, broccoli or chopped clams on a pizza and top it with drizzles such as Nashville Hot, barbecue or blue cheese, in addition to more traditional pizza toppings.
The chain also has a line of salad pizzas, a crust topped with a salad, such as Caesar, Chopped Chicken or Chef salads.
Restaurants feature a heavy dose of televisions. “It’s a hybrid sports bar-pizza place,” Imbrogno said. “But it’s not a pizza place like we all grew up going into where the counter’s up to your neck and you see that one guy behind and making pizzas. We sell a 13-inch, one-size pie and it’s a very, very thin crust. It’s got a real distinct taste.”
The chain’s franchised restaurants generated sales ranging from just under $2 million to $4 million for full-service locations, while a fast-casual version of the concept generated $1.6 million in 2023, according to the company’s most recent franchise disclosure document.
The name of the chain itself is also spelled differently for a relatively simple reason. “I’m actually Enrico,” Imbrogno said. “About three months in, I said to Luigi, ‘Google that name, Rico’s, and see what comes up.’
“Well, you’ve got Rico’s Chicken, Rico’s Taco, Rico’s everything. So we’re sitting here, I look at him and say, ‘Put a K instead of a C to see what happens.’ Nothing. So we jumped in so we can start trade-naming and getting brand protection.”
Riko's serves 13-inch, thin-crust pizzas. Including salad pizzas.
The brand is making its push for growth at an uncertain time for the pizza business. Traditional pizza delivery chains have lost business in the past couple of years as consumers order more delivery from third-party aggregators like DoorDash or Uber Eats.
In addition, full-service pizza brands have generally had a tougher time generating extensive expansion given that so many pizza occasions have shifted to delivery and takeout over the years. That makes the chain’s takeout percentage vital for its long-term health. “Dining room, takeout, delivery, we do it all,” Imbrogno said.
The company decided to franchise a few years ago, after realizing the uniqueness of the business. “It’s a great product, a simple product,” Imbrogno said. “We don’t have a lot of waste in the business because we go through it quickly and don’t have a lot of things on the menu.”
Imbrogno recently began to realize that it would make sense to bring someone else in to help run and expand the brand.
“We built it as far as we could,” he said. “My theory was, let’s make small mistakes, let’s not make big mistakes, and we’ll keep growing as long as we can go. We got to the point that now we’ve got six franchisees, possibly seven or more, that are building right now. There’s a lot of stuff that comes up every day that you have to deal with.”
Bachmann comes with an extensive history in the restaurant industry. He was a general manager of Ruby Tuesdays, ultimately becoming a franchisee. He more recently spent time at Bertucci’s, and then was with Smashburger from 2017 to 2023 until he was lured to take the helm at BurgerFi. He guided that company through its bankruptcy and sale and came available.
Bachmann and Imbrogno had dinner a few times, once at a restaurant near the Fort Lauderdale airport and the other times at Riko’s, eating pizzas, all the while talking about the chain’s growth potential.
“We got together a few times before Carl was ready to give an answer,” Imbrogno said. “I found out later that he would answer me the first night. And I said, ‘Geez, you could have let me know earlier. Cost me a lot of dinners.’”
Rico Imbrogno
Bachmann’s wife told him after their first meeting that he should just take the job because he clearly wanted to. Riko’s is different from his previous stops. Smashburger and BurgerFi were both struggling brands in need of a turnaround.
He found the opportunity to get in early at a growth concept to be refreshing.
“I’ve done a lot of these turnarounds and challenging businesses, and here’s an opportunity, something that’s doing extremely well,” he said. “And get in on the ground floor and make sure we build it the right way. So it’s just a great, great opportunity to work with a great human being.”
As for plans for the chain, Bachmann said he will spend the first 30 days learning about the concept, but he expects to build a detailed plan to craft an organization and a strategy that can help the company grow, such as creating a prototype restaurant that can be replicated.
He will also look at operating systems and marketing to ensure they’re in place. Riko’s grows mostly through franchising right now, but it does plan to build some company units. Bachmann said the chain could seed some markets, prove it out, and hand them over to franchisees.
He also said the company has an advantage in Imbrogno’s background. His construction experience actually helped Riko’s focus on consistency, something that will be key as the chain grows.
“One of the things that endeared me to Rico and the team is his passion for the quality and consistency of the food,” Bachmann said. “I think that is because he was a contractor. Rico has a great eye for detail and he’s built systems and processes for cooking this unique pizza.”
So indeed, though he initially opened Riko’s to fill a space, Imbrogno is a restaurant guy now. Even if he was told it was a bad idea.
“I was warned by my two cousins, who’ve been in the restaurant business their whole lives,” he said. “Don’t ever get into the restaurant business.”