Operations

How two young entrepreneurs are giving Pizza Guys a new face in SoCal

United by high school sports and a passion for a distinct pizza brand, friends My Phan and Edward Phan overcame financial and logistical hurdles to launch two successful Pizza Guys franchises in Southern California.

Photo: Pizza Guys

September 25, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

It's an origin story built on sports, pizza and a surprising friendship. My Phan and Edward Phan (no relation) first bonded as high school teammates before Edward — working as a door hanger — introduced My to the Southern California favorite, Pizza Guys. What started as a summer job for My quickly turned into a shared dream: to open their own franchise. This ambition culminated during their final year of college when the pair, fueled by their belief in the brand's distinctive quality and the franchise's accessible entry fees, scraped together their capital to launch their first location in Temecula, California, followed by a second just 10 miles away in Murrieta.

As a child, My's family would eat at all the big chains, and when he began working for Pizza Guys, he would get free pizza to eat.

"When I first tried Pizza Guys, I was like 'This is really different,'" My said. "The sauce and the toppings and the dough itself were really different from anybody else. Also, Pizza Guys is a small franchise. We're growing, but we're still considered small, and everybody in the franchise has a name rather than a store number … We're actually a face and a name to the corporate people. That sets us apart from everybody else."

Photo: Pizza Guys

Building a franchise

The first step to owning their own franchise was getting their finances in order. My said the entry fees for Pizza Guys are relatively low compared to other franchise brands. As graduating college students, My and Edward didn't have a lot of capital. But they knew they wanted to be franchisees because the quality of the brand stood out amongst its competitors. The initial franchisee fee was $25,000, and then Edward and My began looking for a location and doing research on the particular area they were interested in.

Building permits and fees came next. Depending on the buildout, construction can cost upwards of $400,000.

They signed a lease in 2021 right after the crux of the COVID-19 pandemic, so other businesses were still in the process of opening back up. Permitting took time, as did finding contractors.

At that time, it was difficult to source some of the materials needed for the buildout. While it usually took four weeks to get the oven, it took eight weeks or longer during that time.

It didn't cross their minds to wait until supply chain woes eased up. Without any entrepreneurship under their belts, they went all in. Pizza Guys is a familiar name in the Bay area, but it wasn't as well known in Southern California.

"Our process of thinking was we have more space to open," My said. He said he was nervous leading up to the opening in May 2022, but folks came out in droves and were willing to give Pizza Guys a try.

It took almost a year from signing the lease to opening, and My said they burned a lot of capital during that time.

Operations

Today, My and Edward are hands on in their restaurants.

The stores' staff are important to the brand, as they're the ones providing frontline attention to the guests. Training is critical to the success of Pizza Guys.

"One of our criteria and the first step when you come in is we smile," My said. "We want to hire somebody that is happy (and) energetic and loves to serve. We are a delivery and pick-up business, and with that in mind, you're doing everything. You're a server, you're a cook and you're the person that delivers. So, we train the whole team as one. One person knows how to serve, cook and deliver at once."

Operations are much easier now than they were when they started, as they better understand the business. They've corrected errors, and if an order isn't right, My said it is remade right away. "We make sure the customers in our stores walk out happy," he said.

One of the biggest challenges now is working as a team. "Coming together as a team, sometimes we butt heads," My said, "but we still stick to the same core (values) we wrote out in our business partnership when we first opened a franchise."

Technology has played a big part in the brand's success, with a state-of-the-art POS system at the heart of Pizza Guys' operations. The employees use iPads, and an order goes from the iPads to the makeline and shows the employee how to make the pizza itself with the weight of the ingredients – how many pepperoni or salami slices, for instance. The customer can track how and when a pizza will arrive. People who are picking up their pizzas can also see at what stage their pizza is in the process.

The phone system automatically records each phone call coming in from guests, and the team often audits the calls to see how the employees interact with the customers. They also monitor Yelp and Google reviews for customer feedback.

Maintaining a good relationship with Pizza Guys' corporate team is crucial to Edward and My's success as they venture forward with more units. "Our relationship has a really solid foundation," My said.

In the future

My and Edward plan to open one more store, and they're looking for locations to build. But they want their first two stores to "settle down" and succeed, My said, before venturing forth with further restaurants.

For those looking at entering a pizza franchise, franchises make it easier to source products and negotiate prices.

"You do all the back end of the store in your initial first steps," My said. "So, if you go with a franchise, they already have contracted vendors ready. You just move in and buy the products rather than as a mom and pop you have to do all of that yourself. Choosing a franchise would be much easier in the starting phase. They have all the connections, vendors, contractors and they know building permits. It's much easier than opening your own when you have to do all that yourself."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

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Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
 
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living. 

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