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Mountain Mike's Pizza proves size matters with big pizzas, operations
California based Mountain Mike's has more than 260 stores and is expanding throughout the U.S. The brand is known for its oversized pizzas and plentiful toppings.
October 14, 2022 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Mountain Mike's Pizza does everything a little bigger. There's the company's mountain of toppings on each pizza, and its mountain-sized 20-inch pizza. The pizzas are named after famous mountains, and the company's big commitment to community. It's a tall order for the California-based brand, which has grown to more than 250 locations.
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Jim Metevier, president and COO for Mountain Mike's Pizza. Provided. |
The 44-year-old brand was born in Palo Alto, California in 1978. It was a single unit started by previous executives from other restaurant brands who wanted to build a product from scratch. Today, Mountain Mike's has 262 units. All are franchised.
Jim Metevier, president and chief operating officer for Mountain Mike's Pizza, said as long as he heads the company Mountain Mike's will remain franchised because once a corporate restaurant enters the market, focus tends to turn toward that unit. "We want to be truly a franchise support center, so every tool (and) process that we create is there to serve our franchisees and we keep them squarely front of mind," Metevier said.
Mountain Mike's is now co-owned by entrepreneurs Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme, now co-CEOs of the brand. Both are still involved in the brand and have experience as restaurateurs as the former franchisees of 43 Burger King restaurants. They acquired Mountain Mike's Pizza in April 2017 and have since made major improvements to the brand including the hiring of a superstar leadership team which includes Metevier.
"It's a passion for them," Metevier said. "They were fans first."
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) was involved in the original sale, but sold their shares to Britt and St. Geme earlier this year.
On the menu
Pizza is king at Mountain Mike's and accounts for more than 80% of sales.
In fact, pepperoni is the brand's highest seller, followed by create-your-owns and the Everest, a pizza topped with pepperoni, Italian sausage, salami, linguica, beef, mushrooms, black olives, bell peppers and onion on a classic red sauce.
Specialty pizzas include the Pike's Peak, an all-meat combo with Italian sausage, pepperoni, beef, salami, linguica and ham with a classic red sauce and the Snowy Alps, a garlic combo piled with pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, Italian sausage, green onions and diced tomatoes with creamy garlic sauce.
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Provided |
Dough is made in-house at every store every day, and sauce is made on-site as well. The crust is traditional but has the perfect bounce, Metevier said, with a crisp on the bottom and a firm but pillowy center. "It's kind of a balancing act," Metevier added. "It's all about the quality. That's really our differentiator. We have the best ingredients and we want to make sure that it's authentic. It's not just a production line. I throw around the words 'gut fill' when I'm talking about some competitors and that's not who we are."
A thin crust is also available, as is a gluten free crust.
Wings and appetizers like the brand's new Mountain Fries, cheese sticks, cheese bread and miniature bite-sized churros for dessert round out the menu.
There's also an all-day salad bar and a weekday lunchtime buffet at some restaurants. The salad bar wasn't available during COVID, but they have slowly started returning to restaurants.
Operations
One of the biggest strategies Mountain Mike's execs emphasize on Discovery days — workshops for potential franchisees — is Mountain Mike's commitment to community.
"It's not just about selling the best pizza," Metevier said. "It's about being engaged in the community that they serve and being a pillar in that community.
"We're all about bringing families, communities and sports fans together to dine, share and celebrate around the best pizza. You're going to see Little League teams gathering around mountain-sized pizzas with TVs that are on sports. Mom and Dad grabbing a beer or wine. Arcade games in the corner, and it's all about the community."
Dine-in, carryout and delivery are all available. Dine-in accounts for 20% post COVID with delivery and carryout bearing the brunt of sales. Third-party delivery is also available. Just before the pandemic hit, 100% of systems were on three different third-party platforms. When COVID hit, the brand thrived on delivery and carryout.
"We want to meet our guests wherever they are and give them the best pizza out there," Metevier said. "Third party is in a space that you're not part of the consideration set if you're not on one of those apps; so, we really work with our franchisees to help talk about that strategy. … We're always looking for ways to drive our franchisees' sales and profits."
The majority of franchisees own a single unit and are growing into two or three.
"Most of our franchisees are either related or know each other," Metevier said, "and so we've had this organic growth the last 40-plus years. But most recently over the last three or four years we've brought new people to the family as well as we've continued to grow outside the state of California."
Those states include Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. The first Texas location will open in November. 10 are in the pipeline for Texas as well, with another six slated for Colorado.
Restaurants weigh in at 2,500 to 3,500 square feet.
Maintaining continuity starts with the franchisees, and Metevier and his leadership team meet every prospective franchisee. "This is a 15-, 20-year-plus relationship. We want to make sure that we're coming into this fully with eyes wide open because we're going to have a long marriage," he said.
Franchise business coaches serve as the first line of contact for franchisees to help them run their businesses, including operations and finances, to help coach. Mountain Mike's also launched a learning management system that supports training with videos and tests that takes the weight off managers when it comes to onboarding new team members.
Mountain Mike's is the official pizza of the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Angels.
"We have a premium position, and it allows our franchisees to have a strong business model," Metevier said. "They can make money off of it, but it's because we give a quality experience with a quality pizza to our guests."
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
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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Mountain Mike's Pizza
For over 45 years, Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperonis and Mountain-sized pizzas, has been quietly building one of the largest regional pizza franchises in the West. Today we're developing coast-to-coast with 300+ restaurants, and we're primed for explosive growth nationwide
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