News

Naked Pizza set for Cincy, Dubai

December 9, 2010

One of Cincinnati’s swankiest neighborhoods is about to get a Naked Pizza restaurant.
According to Cincinnati’s Business Courier, rumors are floating about the company’s impending opening in the Hyde Park area.

The New Orleans-based pizza concept’s latest location has been announced via a Cincy Naked PizzaFacebook page. No opening date has been solidified as of yet.

The chain was founded in 2006 and currently has six locations, with the most recent unit opening up in Louisville, Ky.

According to Naked Pizza partner Robbie Vitrano, more than 400 stores are under contract in about 14 months.

“We just pulled the trigger on Phoenix and Las Vegas,” he said. “(We) are currently in Dubai where our first international location will open in January. For now, we’re doing our best not to screw it up.”

Naked Pizza first announced its Dubai objective in the summer. Vitrano said it is the perfect fit for the company’s international expansion plan, describing Dubai as “a cultural, economic and geographic crossroad.”

“The folks in Dubai seem to like the (Naked Pizza) concept, with great interest in our entrepreneurial model, use of social media and take on diet and obesity/chronic disease,” Vitrano said.

Vitrano, along with co-founder Jeff Leach and a team from Naked Pizza, recently presented at three different conferences in the emirate touching upon those topics.

“What drives our business is demonstrating that a pizza can be delicious, affordable, all natural, delivered to you in under 25 minutes and part of your healthy lifestyle,” Vitrano said.