This post was originally published on this site
While most pizza chains have put all their focus on takeout and delivery over the past several years, Irvine-based Mountain Mike’s Pizza LLC is bucking that trend by going all-in with indoor dining.
That’s where the real opportunity lies to grow revenue and profit, Chief Executive Jim Metevier told the Business Journal.
“If you can put programs and a great guest experience in place, you can capitalize on that, grow your average unit volumes (AUVs) and actually drive greater profitability,” said Metevier, who became the CEO last year.
Mountain Mike’s dining rooms span between 2,000 to 3,500 square feet with TVs on the walls tuned into sports channels and a designated area for arcade games. Restaurants also serve beer and wine. Metevier said dine-in is a big opportunity as it turns the chain’s restaurants into the “hometown” dining hub available for families and group events.
“I have one restaurant that does almost a million dollars in dine-in sales, and that’s higher than most brands’ AUV, right?” he said, referring to the average annual sales of each individual restaurant. “I think that resonates, and I think that’s why we’re getting a lot of great franchisees to expand as we go.”
Growth Spurt
The pizza chain is going through a growth spurt since changing ownership.
When Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme bought Mountain Mike’s in 2017, the 40-year-old chain at the time had less than 200 restaurants.
In the last eight years, the new co-owners have grown the chain by 50%, having surpassed 300 stores last year, when it opened 21 new restaurants – its highest number of annual openings.
Metevier is aiming to break the annual record again with 30 new locations planned for 2025. So far, the chain has opened nine new restaurants in the first quarter.
Last year, Britt and St. Geme, the company’s previous co-CEOs, credited then chief operating officer Metevier for the chain’s 82% growth in total system sales over the past five years, which led to AUVs surpassing $1.1 million.
“With Jim as our new CEO, Mountain Mike’s is on a path to achieve even more success, and Chris and I look forward to working in lockstep with him in this new role as we elevate the legacy of Mountain Mike’s Pizza and grow strategically throughout the U.S.,” St. Geme said when Metevier was promoted from COO to CEO last year.
As for future development, Mountain Mike’s has deals for an additional 40 new locations in the coming years.
Metevier said the pizza chain has plans to eclipse 400 restaurants by the end of 2026.
The company generated $361 million in systemwide sales for 2024, up 5% compared to the year before and hitting a goal Metevier had set when he was appointed CEO last year.
A Common Language
Mountain Mike’s will reach 15 states by 2026.
The company is set to enter five new states throughout the next two years, including Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The 100% franchised chain was first established in Palo Alto in 1978 and hasn’t been well known outside of Northern California.
Even in Southern California, brand awareness was spotty for a while until the chain began investing in the market four or five years ago, the CEO said. There are now five Mountain Mike’s in Orange County.
“Pizza is like a common language that everybody speaks and ours, we think, is the best of the world,” Metevier said.
On top of good product, performance also depends on how involved the franchise partner is, according to Metevier. “You don’t want a franchisee who thinks they can just open the restaurant and stand behind the counter,” he said. “It’s never going to work. We expect franchisees to go out in the market and be a member of the community, a pillar.”
In California, it can cost upward of $400,000 to open a store, according to state franchising filings. With recent economic headwinds and a growing priority of value among consumers affecting franchisees, Metevier said that “the number one thing we focus on is protecting their profitability.”
“We look at every single development deal, myself included, and the owners of the company, and we look at every aspect. And if we don’t feel like this site is going to give the franchisee the best shot at being successful, we deny it,” Metevier said.
Though the chain is planning another record growth year, Metevier said he doesn’t want to scale too quickly.
“I want 100% of our franchisee openings to be here for 25-plus years, so we’re always thoughtful in our growth,” he said. “We don’t want to overextend too quickly.”