Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, announces its expansion strategy for the greater Cleveland area, detailing plans to add five new stores to the market by 2025 by partnering with qualified franchise operators. Nationally, the pizza brand has signed 98-plus franchise agreements year-to-date, with over 200 stores in various stages of development, as Marco's aims to grow its 1000-plus unit footprint by more than 10% this year.

The fast-growing pizza brand is experiencing explosive growth, record-breaking sales, and continues to innovate and pilot new programs to sustain its performance. Opening a new store every three and a half days on average, the Top 50% of its franchised stores generated $1,059,574 AUV for 2020*.

Marco's has been operating in the greater Cleveland market since 1989, now boasting 50 thriving locations. With growing brand awareness and open real estate in prime available territories, Marco's seeks hands-on operators and experienced investors to join its winning team and grow in this established market. Area Representatives Matt Baker, Ashley Jones and Mike Jaynes have identified five target areas for expansion:

• Brecksville/Broadview Heights
• Dover/New Philadelphia
• Fairlawn
• Ashtabula
• Ohio City

"We're seeking candidates who are passionate not just about Marco's Pizza as a brand, but also about being committed to community," said Baker. "We're a beloved brand throughout this region and want to be sure we grow with franchise partners who share our passion for community. While we've identified these as prime markets for development, we're open to other areas in greater Cleveland-Akron-Canton Ohio as well."

Baker has been a Marco's Area Representative for 10 years and a franchisee for over 15 years – but most notably, he's been working for the company since the 1980s when he was just a teenager. Today, he and his business partners – Jones and Jaynes – are the Area Representatives for 14 stores in the Cleveland territory.

"The secret to our franchisees' satisfaction in our market has been support," said Baker. "My team and I visit each location regularly to help maximize performance and manage profitability. That means our franchisees get assistance from our team 24/7. We're passionate about Marco's and our people – helping them achieve their full potential and establishing a long-term sustainable business."  

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 866-731-8209.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA 
Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend^® Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making authentic Italian quality pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,000 stores in 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2020 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 6 in the Largest Pizza Chain category on Restaurant Business' 2020 "Top 500 Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include ranking No. 4 in Forbes 2019 "Best Franchises to Buy" Small/Medium Investment and ranking five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 200" ranking.

*Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2020. Based on fiscal year 2020, 142 of 369 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2021 FDD – please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.