Toppers Pizza of Greenfield Donates Pizza to Feed 100

Kyle Soderstrom, franchisee of Toppers Pizza in Greenfield, donated enough pizza to feed 100 kids with the Boys and Girls Club of America on Friday, December 18. Before Soderstrom stepped in with his donation, the club had only received one 4 ft. sub, which would not feed all of the children. With Soderstrom’s contribution from Toppers Pizza, organizations like the Boys and Girls Club are able to continue to help children who are in need.

Like many non-profit organizations and charities, the Boy and Girls Club is struggling this holiday season as the economy has taken a toll on many Americans, not allowing them to contribute to such organizations that help millions of people. Toppers Pizza continues to give back by making in-kind donations to the nonprofits and charities, and stand by the communities that have supported them over the years.

Soderstrom is active year round making several Toppers Pizza donations a year to elementary school reading programs, where children receive free pizza for working hard and achieving goals. Toppers Pizza has become ingrained throughout the Greenfield community and will continue to thrive and be a community partner, rather than just another pizza place.

For more information on Toppers Pizza or the Toppers Pizza franchise opportunity, please visit http://www.toppers.com/.

Toppers Pizza Rewards Waukesha with Reprieve from the Big Chain

Toppers Pizza is different from any other pizza place for a variety of reasons, and their new store openings are no different. At 10:30 a.m. December 19 at the new Toppers (2450 N. Grandview Blvd.) in Waukesha, Toppers Pizza with unleash its newest location to hundreds of “fanatics” by giving the first 50 guests in line free food for a year, and rewarding fans thereafter with prizes and giveaway rewards.

John Kubisiak, local franchisee of the new Waukesha location, is leading Toppers growth in metro Milwaukee. This new location underscores the tremendous success of Toppers Pizza in the Milwaukee market, where Toppers has completely saturated the market with locations.

Toppers success is a direct result of their ability tap into a niche demographic (college students), which has created an extremely loyal, cult-like fan following who will do anything for Toppers Pizza, including waiting in freezing cold temperatures, rain, snow, or shine, to welcome the newest Toppers location into Waukesha.

Kicking off our "My MyZa and Me Photo Contest"

Please read these rules before entering Topper’s Pizza, Inc.’s My MyZa and Me Photo Contest. By entering a photo, you agree to be bound by these rules and represent that you satisfy all eligibility requirements.

Eligibility. NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. THE CONTEST IS ONLY OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OVER THE AGE OF 18. Employees and other representatives of Topper’s Pizza, Inc. (and the immediate family members of each) are not eligible to win. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Offer void where prohibited or restricted by law. Topper’s Pizza, Inc. reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry or vote which does not comply with these rules or to disqualify any person (and all of his or her entries or votes) for any reason.

Entering the Contest. You may enter the contest online by doing all of the following: (1) create your My MyZa and Me photo; (2) send a friend request to Topperspizza Guy on Facebook; (3) post your My MyZa and Me photo on your Facebook page and tag Topperspizza Guy in the photo; and (4) email your name, email address, birth date, phone number, your MyZa Photo Contest photo and the following statement to contests@toppers.com: “I have read the MyZa Photo Contest Official Rules posted on www.toppers.com and/or the Topperspizza Guy Facebook page. I agree to be bound by the Official Rules and represent that I satisfy all eligibility requirements.” Entries must be submitted via email or postmarked by 11:59:59 p.m. CST on January 24^th, 2010. Topper’s Pizza, Inc. will not be responsible for any late, lost, damaged, illegible, incomplete, returned or misdirected entries. All entries must be your original work, may not have been published previously or infringe any third-party rights, and must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent). In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of an online entrant, online entries will be deemed to have been made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address by the Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (such as a business or educational institution) which is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the e-mail address. Topper’s Pizza, Inc. may at any time and in its sole discretion require proof that you are the authorized account holder of your e-mail account. In the event that an entry or entrant is in violation of these rules, the Facebook terms, statement of rights and responsibilities, or principles (all available at www.facebook.com), or any applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, Topper’s Pizza, Inc. reserves the right to ignore any friend requests, remove or delete any comments and/or any Topperspizza Guy tags, and/or remove any entrant from the Topperspizza Guy friend list. By entering this contest, you forfeit all rights to your entry. FACEBOOK DOES NOT SPONSOR OR ENDORSE, AND IS NOT IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH, TOPPER’S PIZZA OR THIS CONTEST.

Voting on an Entry. You may vote on an entry by commenting on it on the Topperspizza Guy Facebook page, or on any Facebook page where the Topperspizza Guy is tagged, using the “comment” feature on Facebook. Comments must be posted by 11:59:59 p.m. CST on January 24^th, 2010. Topper’s Pizza, Inc. will not be responsible for any late, lost, damaged, returnedor misdirected entries. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of a commenter, the comment will be deemed to have been made by the authorized account holder of the Facebook page identified with the comment. FACEBOOK DOES NOT SPONSOR OR ENDORSE, AND IS NOT IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH, TOPPER’S PIZZA OR THIS CONTEST.

Prizes. The funniest entries, as judged by Topper’s Pizza, Inc. in its sole discretion, will be selected as finalists. The finalists will be announced and posted for voting on the Topperspizza Guy Facebook page. The finalist with the most eligible votes will win the grand prize, the finalist with the second-most eligible votes will win the second place prize, and the finalist with the third-most votes will win the third place prize. Ten (10) runners up, in Topper’s Pizza Inc.’s sole discretion, will also receive prizes. The winners will be notified via e-mail or, if a winner has not provided an e-mail address, by telephone, during the week beginning on February 1^st, 2010 and ending on February 6^th, 2010. Each winner will have five calendar days to respond to the e-mail or telephone call, as the case may be, and accept the prize. If the winner is unreachable or ineligible or fails to claim his or her prize within five calendar days, he or she will forfeit his or her prize and the prize may be awarded to another winner, in Topper’s Pizza Inc.’s sole discretion.

The grand prize shall consist of one (1) $1,000 Topper’s Pizza gift card. The second place prize shall consist of one (1) $500 Topper’s Pizza gift card. The third place prize shall consist of one (1) $250 Topper’s Pizza gift card.

Ten (10) runners up prizes shall consist of one (1) Topper’s Pizza MyZa pizza.

The total approximate retail value of all prizes is $2,000.00.

All prizes will be awarded. No substitution or transfer of prizes shall be allowed, except that Topper’s Pizza, Inc. reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value. The odds of winning a prize will be determined by the number of eligible entries received. ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES AND FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS. Unless prohibited by applicable law, winners may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and/or a release of liability and publicity before being awarded any prize. If any winner does not execute such an affidavit or release upon request, his or her prize shall be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.

General Release. By entering the contest, you release Topper’s Pizza, Inc., its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents from any liability whatsoever for any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the contest or with the acceptance, possession, or use of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries and losses related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light).

Consent. Unless prohibited by applicable law, by entering the contest you consent to the use of your name, likeness and image, address and/or prize information and/or contest entry for promotional and other purposes without further payment, except where prohibited by law. By entering the contest, unless prohibited by applicable law, you consent to being placed on the Topper’s Pizza, Inc. mailing list and give your express permission to be contacted by Topper’s Pizza, Inc. regarding the contest by telephone, e-mail and/or postal mail.

Choice of Law and Venue. By entering the contest, you agree that all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these rules, your rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Topper’s Pizza, Inc. in connection with the contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of State of Wisconsin, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Wisconsin or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Wisconsin. By entering the contest, you consent to the jurisdiction and venue of the federal, state and local courts located in Madison, Wisconsin.

Miscellaneous. You agree to be bound by these rules and by the decisions of Topper’s Pizza, Inc., which are final and binding in all respects. Topper’s Pizza, Inc. reserves the right to change these rules or cancel the contest at any time, in its sole discretion.

FACEBOOK DOES NOT SPONSOR OR ENDORSE, AND IS NOT IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH, TOPPER’S PIZZA OR THIS CONTEST.

Click here to access Topper’s Pizza, Inc.’s Privacy Policy.

Toppers Pizza mushrooms in area

Scott Gittrich, president and founder of Whitewater-based Toppers Pizza Inc., visits the chain's Kenilworth Place store on Milwaukee's east side. The chain has seven Milwaukee-area locations, the newest of which opened this month in Fox Point.

Chain's growth accelerates beyond college-town beginnings
By Doris Hajewski of the Journal Sentinel

Whitewater - Some people get into the restaurant business for the love of good food. For Scott Gittrich, it was the Mercedes driven by his 25-year-old boss at the pizza restaurant where he worked during college.

"It was a very exciting time to be in the pizza business," Gittrich said of his job as a delivery driver for Domino's Pizza in Champaign, Ill. He dropped out of the University of Illinois to pursue his dream.

Now Gittrich owns Toppers Pizza Inc., a $19 million franchise chain based in Whitewater.

For most of the years since Gittrich opened his first restaurant in Champaign in 1991, the business has grown slowly. But lately Toppers has picked up the pace, despite the downturn in the economy.

The 26th Toppers location opened May 16 in Fox Point. Gittrich has ambitious plans, aiming for 100 stores by 2013 and 500 by 2020.

Gittrich said he's succeeded by targeting a demographic that the big pizza guys don't go after: 18- to 24-year-olds.

Part of that mission stems from the company's start in college towns. After Champaign, Gittrich moved to Whitewater, where he opened a restaurant in 1993. The next two were in Eau Claire and Stevens Point, in 1997. The first franchise store opened in 2000, in La Crosse.

"The big pizza places, they get all the business, but nobody's really that happy with them," Gittrich said. "We have a fantastic fan base."

Toppers lets customers know that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The Toppers guarantee: "We unconditionally guarantee that your order will be fresh, delicious, satisfying, hot, sexy, mouth-watering, well-read, intelligent, responsible, fun-loving, and prepared exactly the way you ordered it."

Toppers' growth is against the prevailing trend in the restaurant industry.

For the quarter that ended in February, food service traffic declined by 1.5%, according to NPD Group, a research firm in Port Washington, N.Y. The quick-service restaurant segment, which includes carry-out pizza stores, experienced its first decline this quarter since the winter of 2003, down 1%.

Technomics Inc., a Chicago food industry research firm, reported slower growth rates for restaurants in 2008. The 500 largest chains in the United States posted a 3.4% growth rate for the year, compared with 5% in 2007, Technomics said in its annual report released in March.

Toppers isn't large enough for the top 500, which includes companies with sales of at least $35 million. That group accounts for 80% of all fast-food restaurants.

Independent operators dominate the pizza restaurant business, making up 65% of sales as of last July, according to a report in PMQ's Pizza Magazine, citing data from InFoUSA. Pizza Hut, the largest pizza chain, made up nearly 10% of the market, followed by Domino's with 6.8% and Papa John's with 3.6%.

Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomics, has a home in Elkhorn and is familiar with Toppers. He believes there are several reasons why Toppers is finding success.

"They not only have what's been considered to be by many very good pizza," Tristano said. Toppers also serves up variety - chicken wings, sandwiches and breadsticks with flavored toppings.

Toppers' cost of entry for franchisees is relatively low compared with some other restaurants. Toppers franchisees can expect to invest $272,000 to $495,000 to open a location.

Toppers' revenue has increased by 30% for the past two years, mainly because of new store openings, said Scott Iverson, director of advertising and franchise development. On a comparable-store basis, revenue increased 7% last year.

But the economy is showing some effects on individual store results, Gittrich said.

Lower prices this year for ingredients have helped profits, Iverson said. Toppers has been able to maintain its prices, so profits are holding up even with a decrease in the number of transactions, he said.

The bad economy has reined in the pace somewhat in the past year, Gittrich said. Two planned stores haven't been able to open because the franchisees couldn't get financing. The new Toppers in Fox Point brings the number in the Milwaukee area to seven.

The Fox Point restaurant has the look of Toppers' upgraded prototype, which includes four plasma-screen TVs and a soft-seating area with a coffee table.

Even at the helm of a fleet of pizzerias, Gittrich never did buy a Mercedes like the one he coveted back in the 1980s when he was a student/pizza delivery guy.

Gittrich did eventually finish college, earning a degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2000, when he was 37. But he drives a Ford Expedition with 276,000 miles on it.

"I just never bought a new car, and this one is as good as new. I would rather open another store a little earlier than buy another car," he said.



Read it online at the Journal Sentinel