It has been more than five years since Giordano’s opened a new restaurant. But the drought is almost over.
The 60-unit chain known for Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is getting back to unit growth under new CEO Nick Scarpino. It will start next year with a new location in Washington, D.C., just a couple of blocks from the White House.
It's a much-needed sign of life for a brand that has been slowly shrinking for years. From 2019 to 2024, Giordano’s sales fell 9%, and unit count declined from 68 to 60, according to Technomic data.
When Scarpino arrived in December, he saw an iconic and beloved brand with a singular product: stuffed pizza, a version of deep dish that has a layer of dough on top and bottom.
He also found a brand that has traveled fairly well, despite its close ties to Chicago. Today, there are Giordano’s in nine states, and one of its best-performing restaurants is in Las Vegas.
It gave him confidence that Giordano’s was ready to grow again.
Scarpino is uniquely qualified to shepherd an iconic Chicago restaurant chain. He grew up in the suburbs and previously spent 10 years at Portillo’s, where he became CMO in 2023.
Giordano’s has been around for 51 years, and is part of Chicago’s deep-dish Mount Rushmore. Scarpino’s first rule of thumb when he became CEO: “Don’t ruin the brand,” he said.
And yet, he saw some opportunities for improvement.
The menu was a big one. Stuffed pizza will always be Giordano’s centerpiece, and a key draw in new markets. But the chain is also realistic about the item’s limitations.
“Stuffed pizza is a sometimes food. It is an occasion-driven event,” Scarpino said. “Celebrations, birthdays, things like that.”
With that in mind, Giordano’s plans to embrace another Chicago pizza tradition: the tavern-style pie. This super thin, crispy pizza is cut into squares and has toppings that go all the way to the edge. And it is having a bit of a moment, thanks in part to Dave Portnoy, the Barstool Sports founder and host of the popular web series One Bite Pizza Reviews, which has helped draw attention to regional pizza styles.
Giordano’s is set to launch a tavern-style option this fall in hopes of giving customers more reasons to visit.
“We're never going to replace the deep-dish pizza, but we can make this pizza just as famous, and then improve frequency and get more occasions at Giordano’s,” Scarpino said.
The CEO is also looking at Giordano’s technology, with plans to roll out its first mobile app and loyalty program. “I tell people around here that Giordano’s is going digital,” he said.
In tandem with that effort, he wants to grow Giordano’s off-premise business, which has not historically been a focus for the full-service chain. But pizza travels well, and more consumers expect to be able to get their food delivered. So Giordano’s will look to do more with its third-party delivery partners DoorDash and Uber Eats, and put a bigger focus on digital channels such as mobile and web ordering.
“We want to skate to where the puck is heading, and the puck is heading further and further towards off-premise consumption,” Scarpino said.
The chain is also investing in its ecommerce business, which ships frozen deep-dish pizzas all over the country. To help promote that service, Giordano’s has been teaming up with other Chicago restaurant brands for limited-time offers.
A new collaboration with Weber Grill Restaurant, for instance, offers a selection of meats for grilling, plus two Giordano’s pizzas, promising a “legendary” summer feast from two Chicago brands.
“The next generation of consumers loves collaborations, right? And there's so many great Chicago brands that we find that it really resonates well with our e-commerce customers,” Scarpino said.
As for its expansion plans, the chain is looking at markets with a lot of tourism and business travel, like D.C., Las Vegas and the Mall of America—“areas of the country that see a lot of turnover regularly, because we are famous for our deep-dish pizza and deep-dish pizza is an occasion,” Scarpino said.
It will start with company-owned units, and then work to seed the surrounding areas with franchises—but at a reasonable pace, Scarpino noted.
“We’re not chasing numbers,” he said. “We’re chasing the best sites possible.”
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