Madison Heights, Mich.-based Hungry Howie's Pizza has signed a multi-year agreement with Palace Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) to become the official pizza of The Palace, DTE Energy Music Theatre and the Detroit Pistons.
Under the agreement, Hungry Howie's will open new units at both venues, located in the Detroit area. Details of the contract were undisclosed.
Each location will be easily identifiable with the company's signage and colors and will serve 8-inch personal pizzas with Hungry Howie's signature flavored garlic crust. The company is working to add a large size pizza to the menu in the near future.
"We are very excited about partnering with Palace Sports & Entertainment. We have a great local presence in the Detroit area and becoming the official pizza of The Palace, DTE Energy Music Theatre and the Detroit Pistons is a great opportunity for Hungry Howie's," said Steve Jackson, president of Hungry Howie's Pizza.
Dan Hauser, exectuvie vice president of PS&E, added that the addition of the Michigan-based brand provides a "slice of home" to guests.
Hungry Howie's Pizza has more than 500 locations in 24 states. PS&E's Michigan venues average 300 events and 3.5 million guests annually.
According to the Small Business Administration, Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchisees received 32 SBA-guaranteed loans since 2001; 23% of those loans have been defaulted on by Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise owners.
According to Entrepreneur, the Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise chain has shrunk from 575 U.S. franchises in 2008 to 545 in 2012… a decline of 30 franchises or 5% of all U.S. franchises.
The Hungry Howie’s Pizza Franchise has a failure rate of 23% for SBA-backed franchise loans