STRATEGIC PARTNERS
November 1, 2018
Uno Pizzeria & Grill owner, Uno Restaurants, Llc. has sold eight company-owned restaurants to MVPizza, Llc. as part of the brand's refranchizing initiative, a news release said.
The eight Maryland and Virginia market stores are the first to sell under the initiative and all eight locations will be managed by MVPizza, including hourly and field employee supervision.
MVPizza, Llc. is an affiliate of the Bastian Restaurant Group, owned by multi-unit restaurant brand franchisee and operator, Amir Yazdi.
Mr. Louie Psallidas, President & Chief Executive Officer of UNO, stated, "I am pleased to welcome Amir Yazdi and the Bastian Group to the UNO family. I look forward to a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship with Amir and his team and to supporting him in the growth of the UNO brand in his markets."
"The re-franchising initiative was intended to facilitate the growth of the Uno brand through its new prototype dubbed Uno Next," Uno President and CEO Louie Psallidas said in the release. "The Uno Next design, created in partnership with Synergy Restaurant Consultants, brings forward the rich and authentic history of the Uno brand and combines it with a new contemporary design featuring an open display kitchen, a large bar and community tables designed for groups and socializing, a dedicated area for take-out and a significant technology component. We intend to open a company-owned Uno featuring the Uno Next design in 2019."
A second transaction is also in the works and slated to close in November with a franchise group that operates over 160 restaurants across two brands in 14 states. Those stores are located in several Northeast markets, the release said.
Following that transaction, Uno will have 38 company-owned restaurants, along with 54 domestic and eight international franchised restaurants. The company-owned restaurants are primarily based in New England, Florida and Chicago.
The company, based in Boston, has 100 restaurants in 22 states, the District of Columbia, the United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
