Your Pie on The Morning Show, News 4 Jax, WJXT

Your Pie on The Morning Show, News 4 Jax, WJXT

Jacksonville owner, Mike Sims was joined by CEO Bucky Cook and two trusted employess and represented the Your Pie brand amazingly. They were able to personalize the Your Pie concept by explaining how the pies are made, and what goes into creating the pies. The two employees dazzled the viewers with dough tossing precision and tasty looking ingredients. Your Pie's Super Bowl specials were also highlited by a FS Graphic to show the community where to get their pie for the big game!



You can also view the video here.

Your Pie in Clay Today

Your Pie’s “Pie of the Year” winner, Cheri Walker was in Clay Today to talk about the overall contest that took place on Your Pie’s Facebook page. The article gives details about Your Pie’s “Pie of the Year” competition that was won by Fleming Island resident Cheri Walker.



You can view the full article here.

Your Pie Releases Eggnog Gelato Limited Time Offer

Getting into the holiday season yet? Well, we are already prepared at Your Pie! We recently launched our Eggnog Gelato in our restaurants throughout the Southeast. If you are in the mood for a creamy holiday classic with a swirl of chocolate and sweet cake, then we have just the flavor for you. But you better hurry in because this seasonal specialty will only be around for a limited time.

Find the nearest restaurant on our website!

Your Pie featured in Nation's Restaurant News

Your Pie was featured in the November print edition of Nation's Restaurant News sharing the inception story of the Your Pie franchise concept by Drew French. Currently in the fast-casual marketplace, the down-the-line pizza segment is growing quickly and Your Pie was one of the first major players in the industry opening the first location in Athens, Georgia in 2008. Since opening their first restaurant in Georgia, Your Pie has expanded into Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina and are actively looking to grow into new states across the country.

See the PDF article online here.

Your Pie featured in Pizza Marketplace

Your Pie was recently featured in Pizza Marketplace in an article titled, "Your Pie aims for 100 locations by 2015." The article discusses some of the background information about the Your Pie customized pizza franchise and then transitions into a Q&A with vice president of development, Ken Caldwell.  Ken talks about his excitement joining the Your Pie team, the switch to a pizza concept, what makes Your Pie the leader in the fast casual pizza space, plans for growth, and why the fast casual pizza concept is so hot right now.

View the article online here. 

Your Pie aims for 100 locations by 2015

November 8, 2013 - Alicia Kelso

The growth of the fast casual pizza category is staggering and many young concepts have aspirations to quickly surpass the 100-unit mark.

One of those brands is Atlanta-based Your Pie. First opened in 2008 by founder Drew French, Your Pie has grown to 18 locations and recently announced a partnership with Georgia Oak Partners to spur further expansion.

The company's plan is to reach 100 units by 2015. As part of that strategy, Ken Caldwell was recently named VP of Development. Previously, Caldwell led start-up concept Heavenly Ham from 10 units to 230. He then helped HoneyBaked Ham dive head first into franchising, and led that company's growth from 35 units to 180. PizzaMarketplace.com had the chance to talk to Caldwell recently about the fast casual pizza trend and Your Pie's differentiators in an increasingly crowded space.

PizzaMarketplace.com: Why did you take a risk and join a young company in a young subsegment of pizza?

Ken Caldwell: There is always a risk with everything. I've been in franchising for 20 years. Part of my personal thrill is to take emerging brands and grow them. As a customer, I saw what Your Pie was doing and I loved the quality of the product and the emerging category and Your Pie's place in it.

PizzaMarketplace.com: What has the learning curve been like for you getting into the pizza space?

KC: I am new to pizza and there is some difference in the day-to-day operation. But we believe pizza is about as simple as restaurant operations can be. Yes, there is training involved, but we feel that we can teach anybody how to operate a pizza store. The key, though, is to find people who can run a business profitably. We can teach operations, but we need to make sure we teach unit level economics.

PizzaMarketplace.com: As the top-your-own category grows, what is Your Pie's differentiator?

KC: Our primary focus is offering the ability for customers to create their own pizzas. But we also do salads, Panini, craft beer, gelato. We encourage our franchisees to develop relationships with local beer distributors in their markets, and craft beer lovers appreciate that. And, a differentiator is the brick oven, which brings a fantastic flavor to the pizza — a crispy, light flavor. We also use the oven to bake bread for our Panini, so our advantage is in the quality of the product. The brick oven is our focal point.

PizzaMarketplace.com: Does a brick oven slow down speed of service, compared to a concept that uses a high-tech conveyor oven?

KC: From an operations perspective, we believe a brick oven can cook pizza as fast as a conveyor oven and has other advantages. We hand-toss our dough, whereas a lot of competitors hand-press their dough ahead of time. It creates an operational efficiency for them, but we don't take the 'time perspective.' We take the freshness and flavor perspective. We can hand toss our dough, let our customers choose their toppings, bake the pizza and still have it to them in 7 to 10 minutes.

To continue reading Q&A, click here. 

Industry Veteran Ken Caldwell Joins the Your Pie Executive Team

Proven Franchise Expert Set to Steer Growth of the Originator of the Down-the-line Pizza Category

ATHENS, Ga. – Your Pie, the originator of the down-the-line pizza category, continues to grow and get stronger.

Ken Caldwell, one of franchising’s best known and most successful developers, has joined the Your Pie team as the Vice President of Development, the company announced today.

Caldwell brings 20 years in franchising and a documented track record for growth to the brick-oven, personalized pizza brand. He will spearhead Your Pie’s expansion throughout the Southeast and beyond.

“Ken is one of those rare talents that truly understands and can convey the value of becoming part of a franchise family,” Your Pie Chairman of the Board David Barr said. “Ken brings a wealth of experience and talent to the team. We believe we have a special opportunity with Your Pie. Ken’s presence only makes us stronger, and we couldn’t be any more pleased to have him aboard.”

Caldwell began his career with Heavenly Ham alongside current Your Pie CEO Bucky Cook. Caldwell helped take the then-startup ham purveyor from 10 to 230 units before the brand was sold to competitor HoneyBaked Ham.

Caldwell remained with HoneyBaked, which had just ventured into franchising. Under his leadership, the company grew from 35 to 180 units. He also aided in the transition after the merger and operated the HoneyBaked company-owned stores.

“This was truly a very easy decision for me,” Caldwell said. “Your Pie is an exciting, exceptional brand that offers franchisees that rare opportunity to get in at the start. We have a great story to tell about an authentic concept that will revolutionize the way that people look at pizza. I couldn’t be happier to be part of it.”

No other down-the-line pizza brand in the United States has grown more steadily or has opened as many stores.  Your Pie remains committed to becoming the first in the segment to reach 100 operating stores.

With a powerful combination of company assets that includes Drew French, who conceived the concept of down-the-line pizza, a franchise-development team that ranks with the best in the industry and a solidified relationship with Georgia Oak Partners, the brand has established a formula for success to achieve and exceed goals for growth.

Caldwell is actively engaged with franchise partners interested in joining this successful brand. He is working with multi-unit franchise owners and franchise owners looking to diversify, he said. 

The brand will add locations in Atlanta, Charlotte, Tampa, Nashville, Charleston, Birmingham, and Augusta. Although the brand is looking for partners to join the Your Pie family in the Southeast, they also boast a model to support locations in other areas of the country. 

ABOUT YOUR PIE

Your Pie is the world’s originator of the quick-serve, brick-oven, customized personal pizza category. Your Pie owner and originator Drew French tapped his restaurant background and knowledge of the conveyor-driven quick-serve and married it with brick oven technology to create the highest quality pizza available at incredible speed. Drawing from family recipes from the island of Ischia, Your Pie uses only fresh ingredients, homemade pizza sauces and salad dressings, and offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free pizzas, as well as traditional pizzas. Customers who dine at Your Pie have come to expect a custom-made and delicious pizza delivered to their table well within 10 minutes of ordering – the definition of fast casual. As a result, the Your Pie brand is synonymous with success and a fan favorite of families in the communities it serves. For more information about Your Pie or franchising opportunities, please visit www.yourpie.com.

Your Pie in Tampa Bay Business Journal

Your Pie was recently featured in the Tampa Bay Business Journal in an article titled, "With New Backing, Your Pie Pursues Tampa Bay." The article discusses the growth and expansion plans of the custom pizza franchise in the Tampa Bay market as well as the overall growth plans with the new financial backing of private equity firm Georgia Oak Partners. The overall goal for development is to have 100 Your Pie restaurants by the end of 2015.

Check out the article here.

With new backing, Your Pie pursues Tampa Bay

Margaret Cashill

Staff Writer- Tampa Bay Business Journal

Owners of build-your-own pizza chain Your Pie have plans to expand rapidly in Tampa Bay during the next few years.

Now, an undisclosed investment from private equity firm Georgia Oak Partners has furthered Your Pie’s efforts to grow, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.

Your Pie, based in Athens, Ga., has 18 locations in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida, including a restaurant at 2219 South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

In July, CEO Bucky Cook told TBBJ he expects to add a second Tampa Bay location in the next year, and he intends to add another 25 locations in area in the next five to seven years.

Since closing the deal with Georgia Oak this summer, Your Pie has condensed that time frame to two to four years, Cook said.


Four of Your Pie’s locations are company-owned and 14, including the Tampa restaurant, are owned by franchisees.

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