Marco’s Pizza® business’ purpose is to connect friends and neighbors in the Pensacola area
New Marco’s Pizza restaurant in Pace, Florida. (Pensacola News Journal).
Open just more than a month, Marco’s Pizza in Pace, Florida, is already making a difference for the people it serves. The business, which opened in December 2015, has added 25 jobs to the local economy and is contributing to the booming business growth along the U.S. 90 corridor.
Owner and franchisee Chris White has big plans and a goal for his Marco’s Pizza business. “We want to be the community store — that is our whole purpose,” Chris said in a recent Pensacola News Journal article. “We don’t just want to be a franchise pizza restaurant. We really want to be a part of the community.”
With seating for about 50 customers, Marco’s Pizza delivers to the surrounding area, offers catering and features a place for parties and events.
Chris sees his new store playing an important role in connecting families, friends and neighbors in an era when mobile devices are increasingly isolating. “I’m hoping that the store, the way it’s set up, it’ll get folks out to really bring the families back together,” White said. “Put the cell phones down, go have the family sit down and have a pizza.”
Pace, Florida, is part of the metropolitan Pensacola area and is the fastest-growing community in Southwest Florida. Its population has mushroomed from 5,000 people in 2010 to about 53,000 today, according to Pace’s city website.
Marco’s Pizza franchise helps owners find prime locations
The new Marco’s Pizza in Pace should easily become a central meet-up spot for the locals. It’s on the busy U.S. 90 corridor near retail stores and will benefit from the volume of highway traffic, as well as shoppers’ walk-in traffic.
Marco’s Pizza franchise executives work closely with new franchisees and local real estate officials to find the right locations — preferably in high-density suburban areas. They look for visible locations within a shopping center with a big retail chain, or for end-cap real estate on roads and highways that get 20,000 cars or more driving by daily.
“We do everything we can to try to find the right locations,” says Glenn Ajmo, Marco’s Pizza Area Representative and multi-unit owner in Florida. “Some of the other chains, there’s no growth left. … With Marco’s there’s a lot of availability, there’s a lot of growth potential and there are still a lot of exclusive areas.”
Marco’s Pizza franchise is easily scalable
If all goes well in Pace, Chris hopes to open five more Marco’s Pizza locations in the Pensacola area in the near future.
Committed to our franchisees’ successful growth, Marco’s Pizza equips entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills to start strong, scale easily and grow quickly. Whatever your business goals, we’ll do all we can to help you accomplish them.
New franchisees spend six weeks at Marco’s University pizza store, learning business and leadership skills and how to make our delicious pizzas.
New franchisees spend about six weeks in a Marco’s University pizza store where they learn about making products with our premium ingredients. They also learn about store operations — including staff training and management, marketing and understanding profit and loss statements.
Our experienced corporate staff, business leaders and area representatives are always available to answer questions and offer support. Owners are also encouraged to reach out to experienced franchisees.
“You can talk to franchisees who own multiple stores,” says Marco’s franchisee Eric Bueter, who has nine stores in Northern Ohio. “I encourage new franchisees to pick up the phone and call the Marco’s veterans. They’ll stop you from making tons of mistakes.”
Marco’s Pizza also offers a relatively low initial investment, making it more feasible to open multiple locations. Restaurants range in size from 1,400 to 1,600 square feet, which is a smaller operation with lower overhead than some other restaurant chains. Startup costs range from $221,592 to $421,592.
Learn more about Marco’s Pizza
For in-depth details about the Marco’s Pizza® franchise opportunity, download our free franchise report. You can also learn more by visiting our research pages.
