Your Pie Featured in Restaurant Hospitality Magazine

Your Pie was recently featured in Restaurant Hospitality Magazine in an article titled, "Fast-casual pizza segment heats up".

The article discusses the recent trend in the fast-casual pizza segment, mentioning that many claim the have been the first to create the build-your-own pizza concept. The article references the increasing competition in the market, citing it as a $31-billion segment. Your Pie is mentioned as the first fast-casual pizza concept to open in April of 2008.

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Fast-casual pizza segment heats up

By: Eric Stoessel

Several of the emerging fast-casual players claim to have created the build-your-own pizza concept, but the better question is who will be left standing. More than a dozen brands have debuted in the last five years and are now taking shape across the country, vying to become the dominant player in the growing gourmet pizza category.

It’s easy to see why. Fast casual has become a $31-billion segment since Chipotle began reinventing fast food 20 years ago. Consumers today want quality offerings made quickly. The limited-service pizza segment does $31 billion in sales and if you add casual Italian dining chains, pizza is part of a $50-billion marketplace.

Your Pie Featured in Jacksonville Business Journal

Your Pie was recently featured in the Jacksonville Business Journal in an article titled, "Will pizza be the next food fad to hit Jacksonville?"

The article touches upon the history of food fads in Jacksonville, including froyo, cupcakes, and gourmet burgers. Recently, they've seen an increase in the presence of a fast-casual pizza in the region. Your Pie is the first to be mentioned in the trend of the "better" pizzas.

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Will pizza be the next food fad to hit Jacksonville?

By: Ashley Gurbal Kritzer

Froyo. Cupcakes. Cronuts. Gourmet burgers.

What will be the next foodie fad to hit Jacksonville?

It’ll likely be an upscale take on pizza, served in a fast casual setting, an analyst said.

“We’re looking ahead and seeing better pizza concepts emerging,” said Mary Chapman, director of product innovation for Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food industry analysis firm. “There are a handful of concepts around the country.”

Your Pie Featured in Tampa Bay Business Journal

Your Pie was recently featured in the Tampa Bay Business Journal in an article titled, "Restaurateurs on hold after reform mandate delayed".

The article discusses how some entrepreneurs are holding off on expansion plans due to the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act. Your Pie CEO Bucky Cook discusses how Your Pie does not expect to be immediately impacted by the new laws. Bucky discusses Your Pie’s expansion plans in Tampa Bay and the surrounding area.

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Restaurateurs on hold after reform mandate delayed

By: Margaret Cashill

Some people in the restaurant industry are still waiting to find out the full implications of the Affordable Care Act, as well as the Obama administration’s decision to delay the employer mandate.

“I don’t know if any of us, including the people charged with enforcing it, fully understand it, even though the regulations have been written,” Bucky Cook, CEO of quick service build-your-own pizza chain Your Pie, said of the health care reform law.

Your Pie Featured on FastCasual.com

Your Pie was recently featured on FastCasual.com in an article titled, "Your Pie founder: Fast casuals will beat the $10-pizza chains".

The article, which includes great photos and a solid headline, talks about the inception of Your Pie and how founder Drew French built the concept with quality and innovation as paramount. The article also talks about how Your Pie supports franchisees and ensures their success. Overall, this was a really great brand piece that showcases the credibility of the concept.

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Your Pie founder: Fast casuals will beat the '$10-pizza chains'

By: Cherryh Butler

Pizza seems to be the new darling of the fast casual industry, but Drew French was one of the first to market the build-your-own pizza concept six years ago when he opened the first Your Pie in Georgia.

Upon arrival, customers tell pizza chefs whether they want white, wheat or gluten-free dough and then pick from eight sauces ranging from Ischia-inspired marinara, basil pesto or the chain's secret recipe BBQ sauce. Lastly, they choose among eight cheeses and more than 40 fresh vegetables and premium meats, such as Italian sausage and bacon.

"We then finish it in our brick oven so it gets kissed by the flame," French said. "They cook in a brick oven at very high temperatures, so it only takes 3 to 5 minutes to cook a pizza depending on how many toppings a customer chooses."

Your Pie Relaunches Contest on Facebook

Your Pie is about to relaunch its popular "What's Your Pie?" contest. This time, the contest will solely be housed on its Facebook page.

The "What's Your Pie?" contest asks customers to create their own pizza at their local Your Pie location. Pizza builders are asked to take a picture of their edible creation, name it, and then upload it to the Facebook page application with a list of the ingredients. Fans of Your Pie can then vote for their favorite creations. The pizza with the most votes at the end of the month will be crowned "Pie of the Month" and advance to the ultimate "Pie of the Year" competition.

The grand prize for the "What's Your Pie?" contest is a trip to the Italian island of Ischia, where the Your Pie concept was inspired. Founder Drew French first fell in love with the classic brick oven style of pizza baking while on his honeymoon with his wife Natalie, whose family is from the island. "It just makes sense to share the Ischia experience with the ultimate Your Pie enthusiast," French explained. The winning pizza will also be added to the menu at all Your Pie locations.

Voting takes place each month from the 1st to the 21st. Visit Your Pie's Facebook page to view the competition which relaunches on July 1, 2013.

Your Pie Featured on FastCasual.com

Your Pie was recently featured on FastCasual.com in an article titled, "Your Pie targeting multi-unit operators for growth".

The article announces the franchise growth of Your Pie and how the brand is seeking to double in locations. The article mentions the process of beginning a Your Pie franchise and the benefits of being a multi-unit operator.

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Your Pie targeting multi-unit operators for growth

Drew French, founder of Your Pie, is looking for multi-unit operators to grow the 18-unit brand.

Less than six years from the launch of his first Your Pie, French plans to add eight franchise restaurants in 2013. His goal is to identify multi-unit operators to join the franchise system and scale from the regional base already in place.

With a franchise fee of $25,000 and total investment averaging $350,000, a Your Pie franchise includes pre-opening development assistance for site selection and analysis, lease negotiation, architectural layout and restaurant design, comprehensive restaurant build out, four weeks of training, and full marketing and communications support.

Your Pie Featured in Athens Banner-Herald

Your Pie was recently featured in the Athens Banner-Herald in an article titled, "Your Pie aims to double number of restaurants in Southeast".

The article announces the franchise growth and how the brand looks to double in locations.  Also, the article talks about the number of locations in the country with reference to states, and about the expected number of locations Your Pie plans to expand to in the next five years. Founder Drew French says the brand has gotten better because of its franchisees, and franchisee Debi Huckaby added to the article stating  she joined the franchise “after ‘falling in love’ with the restaurant after their first visit” and “chose to invest in French’s pizzeria because the concept is ‘brilliant and easy to operate.’” 

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Your Pie aims to to double number of restaurants in Southeast

By: Katherine Sims

Your Pie, the Athens-based custom pizza franchise, is hoping to more than double it number of stores in the Southeast over the next several years.

There are now 17 Your Pie locations in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee, and founder and CEO Drew French says the company expects to open another 10 to 20 stores in the Southeast over the next three to five years. But French said he also doesn’t want to lose sight of his shop’s roots.

“We know we have a business model that is well-received in many markets,” French said. “Our goal is to be a national brand, but we don’t want to outgrow our support system in Athens.”