November 2, 2009
With the first franchise license expected to be awarded within the next two weeks, Crochet said he expects the first store to open in one of five areas: Baton Rouge; Detroit-Ann Arbor, Mich. (the birthplace of Domino's); Tampa, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; or Washington, D.C.Crochet credits much of the rapid expansion to the company's undisclosed financial backing of billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and a recent connection with Foxborough, Mass.-based The Kraft Group, which will help Naked Pizza reach the investors it's targeting. The latter connection hopefully will help Naked Pizza get its product into suites at Gillette Stadium next season.But Crochet wants to use those connections to help other entrepreneurs in the New Orleans area.