Pie Five Pizza Heats up Expansion with 25 Store Multi-Unit Franchise Deal

Nation’s Leading Fast Casual Pizza Chain Adds Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico

Read original story on Marketwatch.

DALLAS, July 28, 2015 – Dallas-based Pie Five Pizza just expanded its piece of the pie. The brand known for artisan pizzas, handcrafted with farm fresh ingredients and baked with lightning speed today announced a new development deal with HCW Development that will add 25 locations in Branson and Springfield, Missouri; Tucson, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first location is set to open next year in Branson, Missouri.

The newest Pie Five development deal is with franchise partners Rick Huffman and Sam Catanese of HCW Development, which own several hotels, restaurants and developments in Branson and Phoenix. This new development deal follows multi-unit deals recently announced in in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Colorado, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi. This is in addition to company-owned expansion in Chicago, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Pie Five has grown from one location to 55 in less than four years. The growth rate for the past fiscal year alone reached almost 200 percent

“The Pie Five concept is in on fire across the country — in large part because of experienced operators that really understand how to create great dining experiences for guests,” said Randy Gier, chief eating officer of Rave Restaurant Group, Inc. “Rick, Sam and Jamie make up a talented team and we’re all so excited to welcome them to the Pie Five family and look forward to bringing our unique brand of made-your-way artisan pizzas to their local communities.”

At Pie Five, guests can choose from more than a million combinations of farm fresh ingredients, artisan sauces and handcrafted crust variety. Pies bake in just 145 seconds in a custom-designed, state-of-the-art oven. By the time the guest arrives at the register, their hot, bubbly, pizza perfection is ready. Additionally, they can add one of Pie Five’s freshly-tossed hand-made salads served in a baked pizza dough bowl or a decadent home-baked brownie or cookie pie to their meal. The rapidly expanding chain is capitalizing on growing consumer demand for fresh dining options and artisan pizzas in stylish environments without the wait.

“Pie Five is based on creating a custom experience for each guest and our development group is also very passionate about pairing individualized, leading-edge concepts to the communities we serve,” said Rick Huffman, chief executive officer, HCW Development. “We look forward to partnering with Pie Five and their team to expand the leading fast casual pizza brand across country.”