Firenza, a recent entrant into the fast-casual pizza marketplace, has launched plans for a national expansion program. Introduced in March 2015 by a team of franchise executives with more than 100 years of restaurant business development experience, the company officially launched its franchise program in September. Firenza plans to open as many as 15 to 20 new restaurants in 2016 and approximately 20 to 30 annually thereafter. Industry veterans, co-founders Dave Wood and Dave Baer owned and operated 17 Dominos franchises throughout Northern Virginia before selling them in 2012.   Earlier this year, the pair opened their first two Firenza restaurants, one in Fairfax, Virginia and the other in Alexandria, Virginia specializing in the hand crafted and made-to-order pizzas. Customers can pick and choose from nearly 40 toppings, six signature sauces, seven cheeses, nine meats and 17 veggies, and watch their customized pies assembled in full view.  Firenza also offers eight, chef-inspired signature pizzas. Each pizza takes about three to four minutes to bake in an open flame stone-hearth oven. “Unlike most other fast casual pizza chains where the crusts are premade and machine-pressed, our pizza dough is made in house daily and hand-stretched to order right in front of the customers,” added Wood.  Other menu items include oven baked wings, meatballs and custom salads. Beverages include beer and wine, Mexican Coca-Cola, and Coke freestyle fountain drinks. To fuel the company’s growth, Firenza is seeking both single and multi-unit franchisees. Area Developer agreements are also being granted to a select few that meet the company’s guidelines. “The key to fast growth in the otherwise stagnant restaurant industry is fast casual pizza and we’re confident that we have what it takes to become the segment leader,” he said.

CATEGORY:   Quick Casual
Chain Name:  Firenza Pizza
Company Name:  Firenza Pizza Franchise LLC
Street Address:  10160 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Tel: 703/537-0177    Fax:
Email: info@firenzapizza.com  Website:  www.firenzapizza.com
Menu Specialty: Specializes in truly hand crafted and made-to-order, stone hearth-baked pizzas that can be customized with nearly 40 toppings.
Introduced: First location opened in Fairfax, Virginia in March 2015
No. of Locations:  Two in Virginia, Plans for 20 to 30 annually.
Areas of Operation:  National
Types of Location:
BusinessType (corp., franchise, jv): Franchise
Size Req’d:
Special Requirements (patio, drive-thru, etc):
Contact Name:  Dave Wood – Co-founder
Dave Baer – Co-founder
REAL ESTATE REPRESENTATIVES:
FRANCHISE REPRESENTATIVES:
PARENT COMPANY: Firenza Pizza Franchise LLC, Fairfax, Virginia
Related Chains:
Last Report: Restaurant & QSR Expansion Report #146  Last Update:
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