Hot, Sizzling Expansion: Toppers Pizza Secures Multi-Unit Deal in Nebraska

(Franchise Buy) - By . Updated Oct 9, 2013

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Hot, Sizzling Expansion: Toppers Pizza Secures Multi-Unit Deal in Nebraska

Father and Son Duo Expand Fast-casual and Eclectic Pizza Family with Plans to Open Six Units in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb.

WHITEWATER, Wis. – The eclectic pizza delivery brand Toppers Pizza (Toppers) is growing quickly with no signs of slowing down. The young and young-at-heart franchise is proud to announce it has recently awarded a six-unit area development agreement for Omaha and Lincoln, Neb. Father and son Jon and Jon Crowe are looking forward to building off their initial success in Lincoln by opening six Toppers stores in the two cities over the next three years. This agreement represents a bold move from the growing pizza concept to make their mark in Nebraska, evidence of the brand’s growing fan base of both franchisees and customers.

“We’ve already seen such great sales success in 2013, and we plan to grab hold of our momentum and continue to carry out our aggressive growth strategy in Nebraska over the next few years,” said Chris Cheek, Chief Development Officer of Toppers. “We couldn’t be more proud to have the Crowes spearhead our efforts in the state; they are the ideal multi-unit franchisees for our brand’s quickly expanding franchise system.”  

Father and son team Jon Sr. and Jon Jr. are proven pizza pioneers, originally joining the rapidly growing pizza delivery brand in 2011 with one store in Lincoln, Neb. Prior to opening Toppers, Jon Sr. worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, and also has additional experience in the restaurant industry. Jon Jr. is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is thrilled to bring the Toppers experience to more people in his alma matter’s surrounding area.

“My dad came to me with this crazy idea to go out to a small town in Wisconsin to check out a business he found on the Internet,” said Crowe, 27, recalling their first encounter with Toppers. “At the time, I couldn’t really envision myself running a pizza shop, but nearly three years later, I can’t imagine what I’d be doing today if we hadn’t made that chance trip.”

Since that initial meeting, the duo has made a splash in Lincoln with their first Toppers store, where they originally brought the unique brand to a youthful market. They hope to build on their success in the Lincoln market when the team opens their first store in Omaha in 2014.

“Having had a college-aged son really makes you realize and appreciate the importance of pizza,” said Crowe, 56. “We wanted to find a brand that matched our level of enthusiasm for great pizza and Toppers has provided that answer.”

Using their development strategy to rapidly spread locations in and out of Wisconsin, Toppers has expanded across the Midwest region to allow for better brand recognition and a devoted cult following. Focusing on Wisconsin markets for the first 20 years of inception, Toppers then moved on to open new locations in surrounding states, including Minnesota and Nebraska. By the end of 2015, these three states are expected to anchor 70 stores.

Currently, the brand boasts locations throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, Nebraska, Arkansas, Indiana and Texas.

“We have been able to differentiate ourselves among competitors in the pizza segment by creating an experience that is focused on the customer,” said Scott Iversen, Vice President of Marketing. “The eclectic and unique experience that we’ve cultivated across the system has not only enabled us to turn our guests into fanatics, but has also empowered us to continue driving growth into new and untapped markets.”

As a growth-focused franchise, Toppers forecasts an impressive Q4 of 2013 with plans to build a larger presence throughout the Midwest by the end of the year. The brand aims to reach 500 locations by 2020, primarily through the focused support of multi-unit operators like the Crowes.

A brand dedicated to customer service and unique offerings clearly shows its success in its numbers. In Q1 of 2013, Toppers released an edit to its already robust earnings claim, with company-owned units averaging $889,086 in gross sales/year with an impressive $143,519 net. This disclosure helped the brand award 11 new locations in the first half of 2013.

“With a growing focus on expanding in areas with proven success, securing additional locations in Omaha and Lincoln makes perfect sense,” Cheek said. “We’re thrilled to have the Crowes continue to add to our presence in the market, and we feel strongly that they are the right type of people to continue to grow the base of Toppers fanatics in Nebraska.”

ABOUT TOPPERS PIZZA

With a mission to be the best pizza company in the world by killing it on every detail of the customer experience, Toppers Pizza is an eclectic pizza delivery franchise brand, headquartered in Whitewater, WI. Toppers takes a unique approach to the crowded pizza segment by appealing to the young, and young at heart, in an irreverent way that unquestionably separates them from the competition. Ranked No. 343 in Entrepreneur Magazine’s top 500 franchises and one of the Nation’s Restaurant News 50 Breakout Chains for 2013,Toppers’ menu includes a variety of house pizzas; the franchise’s signature product line Topperstix; Buffalo Wings; and cold drinks. The brand has strongly established itself in Wisconsin, and is now in the midst of Midwest and national domination. By focusing on Toppers’ demographic friendly markets, Toppers is able to continue building a fanatical relationship with its customer base. For more information on Toppers, visit www.toppers.com.

*The financial performance set forth above are for the one year (52 weeks) commencing on January 2, 2012 and ending on December 30, 2012 and are for the 9 affiliated owned restaurants open the entire 52 weeks. Of the 9 restaurants 3 exceeded the average Gross Sales and 5 exceeded the Net Income as defined in our Franchise Disclosure Document.  Please refer to our 2013 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information.

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