TOLEDO, Ohio, April 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marco's Pizza, the fastest growing pizza company in the U.S., named Bryon Stephens as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective April 15. As Vice President of Development since 2005 Stephens has been responsible for the development and execution of the company's successful growth strategy including franchisee recruitment and the new store opening process. Stephens joined Marco's Pizza with 22 years of experience developing YUM! Brands, Inc. and Yorkshire Global Restaurants, the parent company of A&W and Long John Silver's.
When President and CEO Jack Butorac purchased the franchise rights for Marco's Pizza, one of the first people he hired was Bryon Stephens. From the beginning Butorac intended to grow the Marco's brand as he had other national brands, and describes Stephens as "a tour de force in the franchising community and key to Marco's more than doubling in size in less than five years."
Butorac added, "Bryon has the same values I want our company to have – serve a quality pizza and work with our franchisees as partners. Bryon will continue to lead the development with additional focus on increasing the profitability of our franchise community. Marco's unit economics are strong and with Bryon's focus will become even stronger."
Marco's Pizza was recently named by AllBusiness as the number one pizza franchise opportunity, having opened a record number of new stores for the past two years in a row, all while maintaining the high quality standards the company is known for. Marco's is on target to open over 100 more stores by the end of 2013 and currently operates 355 stores in 29 states, the Bahamas and Panama, with over 1000 additional sites committed.
As COO, Stephens's goal is to grow the company both in terms of number of pizzerias and in terms of store profitability. "As the Marco's Pizza Authentic Italian brand continues to gain a strong reputation for quality, the opportunities for franchisees grow exponentially. Our franchisees have proven to the market place that we could do what we set out to do. Marco's has a robust authentic Italian product, a strong community image, and a mission to delight our customers. That's the Marco's recipe for growth."
ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA:
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza (Marco's Franchising, LLC) is the fastest-growing pizza company in the U.S. (based on the number of stores signed into development since 2007). Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian born, Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making Italian Pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate more than 340 stores in 26 states, the Bahamas and Panama. Marco's Pizza recently ranked 11th place in the "2012 Pizza Industry Top 100 Movers & Shakers" article sent out by PizzaMarketPlace.com. To inquire about franchise opportunities with Marco's Pizza visit marcosfranchising.com.