Operations
Your Pie commits to creative menu, customer service
Georgia-based Your Pie thrives on its franchisees, its commitment to creativity and its focus on training.
June 7, 2024 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Forget waiting for delivery or battling greasy slices. Fast-casual pizza chains are taking over the lunch scene, offering gourmet toppings, build-your-own options and speedy service at a comfortable price point. At Your Pie, fast casual create-your-own pizza is more than just a passing fad. It's a way of life.
Your Pie was founded by Drew French, a serial entrepreneur who graduated from the University of Georgia and honeymooned in Italy. He was inspired by the way Italians approach food – with family and community — and he saw a deficit in fast casual pizza. He launched Your Pie in 2008 in Athens, Georgia, in 2008 using recipes from his wife's Italian family. French wanted to focus on community with pizza that featured fresh ingredients, but mesh it with the cool, hip college town of Athens.
Today, the brand is owned by French, private equity group Georgia Oak Partners, and the former CEO. The current CEO, Ken Caldwell, took over the 65-unit company last November. Franchising began in 2014. One is a corporate unit and the rest are franchised.
"We had great growth until COVID hit," Caldwell said. "COVID for a lot of pizza brands was really good because of the delivery component (and) the off-premise component. We were a dine-in experience up to that point. The reality is our off-premise was only about 10% pre-COVID. Now, we're at about 40%.
"The restaurant world has changed. The consumer landscape has changed. The way people have experienced pizza has changed; so, it's been a little bit of reconfiguring the business for us for a couple of years. We are now at the position where we are poised for growth again."
Caldwell said his goal is to establish a company-branded division, so Your Pie will have more company owned stores in the Atlanta area later this year.
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Photo: Your Pie |
On the Menu
When conceptualizing his brand, French didn't want an expensive dine-in experience, nor did he want a fast-food concept. Fast casual, which gives customers the opportunity to build a pizza they want, seemed just right. "Drew wanted to create a pizza experience whereby everybody could get exactly what they wanted," Caldwell said, "and they could watch it being made fresh. They can watch it being built and with our oven they can have exactly what they want in about five minutes."
Your Pie is a custom pizza brand. Consumers choose a dough, then choose a sauce and toppings and watch the pizza as its being made on the makeline. Caldwell said Your Pie's menu was influenced by French's passion for pizza and doing things a little different than traditional pizzerias.
"Drew is an innovator by nature. Pizza is the universal food," Caldwell said. "He likes to put a very different flair on a very familiar product. And so he came up with the idea of the Peach Prosciutto. It was a huge seller for us as an LTO."
That pizza also landed the company a spot on the U.S. Pizza Team and French traveled to Italy to compete against some of the best pizzaiolos in the world.
Your Pie releases LTOs, called its "Craft Series," four times a year. "We try to come up with things that are on trend but also maybe regional in nature so that people can experience pizza in a different way," Caldwell explained. "Everybody loves pizza, but we try to do it in a way that maybe (consumers) haven't tried before. So it keeps the menu fresh, it keeps customers interested and it keeps our franchisees interested. It's just a way to maintain relevance in our communities with new and fresh offerings."
A Hot Honey Pepperoni was also a popular LTO with pepperoni, pickled jalapenos and Mike's Hot Honey. It was such a good seller that the brand put it on its permanent menu. A Philly Cheesesteak pizza was a customer favorite and the brand is adding it to the menu again later this year. A Slider Pizza was topped with beef, onions, pickles and yellow mustard.
Dough is made in a dough facility in Athens, Georgia, and shipped to Your Pie's franchised locations. When French launched the brand, he wanted to make dough locally, but he realized asking franchisees to become dough masters was illogical and franchisees would have to make a large commitment to expensive equipment. They'd also need space, which is a commodity in a small pizzeria. Finally, the water is different in each of the municipalities where the restaurants are located, which results in a different flavor and texture of the dough.
At the local level, everything is sourced for franchisees and sent through distribution, but franchisees can use locally sourced ingredients — namely produce. The brand also menus salads, gelato, oven-fired wings (sauces are made in-house) and several local craft beers.
Pizzas are baked in Wood Stone brick ovens at 700 degrees for four to six minutes and accounts for 80% of sales.
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Photo: Your Pie |
Operations
Several things set Your Pie apart from the competition not only in the pizza segment but in the fast casual industry as well.
"What we will never compromise on is the quality of the ingredients," Caldwell said, "including dough, sauce and the freshness of our toppings."
The brand's ovens impart a taste and flavor profile that is different from Your Pie's competition.
The guest experience also sets the brand apart, Caldwell said. Part of what Your Pie looks for in a potential franchisee is the connectivity within the community. "We want to make everyday moments better with pizza, and be our local communities' favorite pizza place," he added. "So it is less about a meal, and its more about a pizza experience. We want to be known for giving back to our community, and we want people to come see us when they want more than just a meal."
Caldwell said he has been in franchising for more than 35 years and added that the quality and consistency of the food and service must be consistent across the brand. "I also want our franchisees to have the ability and the freedom to be active in their communities in ways that make sense," he said.
Your Pie has a support staff that is second to none, Caldwell added, and the brand has made investments in top talent. Training is critical, especially for young workers who may find Your Pie their first job. "We say we want to be everybody's best first job," Caldwell said, "and that is truly a mantra that we believe it. We want to be a great place to work. We tell our franchisees all the time that the keys to success are to hire and retain talent."
At the corporate level, Caldwell said employees value each other, but it's imperative that franchisees are supported as well.
Growth
The company moved its headquarters to just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, about three years ago. Most of Your Pie's locations are in the Southeast, but the brand has done well expanding to California, Arizona, Colorado and Montana as well.
Your Pie expects to open five units this year, but plans to hit the gas on growth next year by selling 30 units. The brand expects to sell 50 units in 2026.
Your Pie is looking at staying in the Southeast and will tap into existing franchisees for growth.
Franchising needs to be a fit for both the franchisee and the franchisor, Caldwell said. "I would ask (potential pizzeria operators) to immerse themselves into the life of a franchisee before they decided to make that investment. Make sure they understand the pace of the day, the cadence of the day."
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.
