Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Toppers Pizza Rewards Twin Cities with Reprieve from the Big Chain

WHITEWATER, WI – The big pizza chains serve their purpose: mediocre food; mediocre promises; mediocre connections. Toppers Pizza, a 30-unit eclectic pizza delivery franchise brand, doesn’t follow those characteristics. To prove its tasty promise to consumers, Toppers will celebrate this reprieve with two grand opening celebrations unmatched by the big guns at its two new locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

At 10:30 a.m. August 6 at 702 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis and again at 10:30 a.m. August 27 at 1154 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, Toppers Pizza will unleash its two newest locations to hundreds of “fanatics.” In addition, Toppers will give the first 50 guests in line free food for a year and reward fans that day with prizes and giveaway rewards.

“When we open a location, it truly is a celebration. No fake grand openings with boring ribbon cuttings. We go for the grand slam with the way we open, the way we connect with our customers, and the tastes we offer on our menu,” said Scott Gittrich, CEO of the emerging chain and former Dominos Pizza delivery driver. “Trust me; I quickly learned what not to do with our customer bonds. This is their party, not ours.”

Along with its ability to tap into the most influential demographic, 18-34 year olds, Toppers has made a name for itself as innovators of unique menu items. Toppers was the first delivery brand to capture the cheesy bread marketplace with its famous Topperstix. Toppers has never shied away from innovation with its Mac ‘N Cheese, Potato Topper, Cool C-B-R (Chicken-Bacon-Ranch), The Hangover Helper, Buffalo Wings, Quesadillas, Grinders, and dozens of other menu items. Differentiating itself from the competition, 70 percent of Toppers’ sales come from items not traditionally found on competitors’ menus.

Continuing Toppers Pizza’s penetration into the Minneapolis market on August 6 is multi-unit entrepreneur and pizza lover, John Kubisiak, who was first attracted to the brand as a customer. Today, he owns four locations, with an obligation to develop an additional three in Minneapolis. Then just three weeks later, first time entrepreneurs, Dan Ogiba and Brad Vinton, will open the first St. Paul Toppers Pizza location.

The two new locations are part of the initial growth strategy for Toppers Pizza’s saturation of the Twin Cities. There are eight locations under contract for development in the Twin Cities, including one slated to open in December.

“As we grow, like a balloon, out of Wisconsin and into surrounding states and then nationwide, we want to maintain a stronghold on top-tier franchisees. By doing so, we can maintain our core culture, our brand evolution, and our methodical growth pattern,” Brett Larrabee, Toppers Pizza Director of Franchise Development, said, noting that the two new Twin Cities Toppers features the brand’s newest blueprint with an updated, vibrant, “chill”-friendly atmosphere.

When the big chains are down, Toppers has remained up, taking names and gripping its share of the $40-plus-billlion pizza industry. In 2010, Toppers increased average unit volumes and system-wide sales, opening four stores with 20 more under contract. Why?

“The reason for our success is simple, meaning that we are not one of the ‘Wal-Marts’ of the industry. The big chains have lost identity and brand connection,” Gittrich said. “Our customers are fanatical about our brand. Our quirkiness and edginess has given our brand character, so we have been able to continue our growth and bonding with an untapped national demographic – the 18-34-year olds.”

Friday, July 22, 2011

Toppers Social Media Update: Spank Tank, Photo Contest & More!

For those loyal Toppers fanatics that have been on the Toppers Facebook fan page for awhile, they have certainly noticed a change in both look and feel. In the recent weeks, with the unveiling of the Toppers Spank Tank, Toppers has re-designed their page by changing their fan page photo (which includes a dandy QR code) as well as added a tab that gives fanatics the opportunity to request the Spank Tank in their area. These technological advances in the fan page will continue to roll out as Toppers has plans to announce some pretty big things in the near future!

Toppers also wrapped up their 20th Anniversary Photo Contest last week. After receiving a ton of entries, finalists were narrowed down to the top 10. These finalists were then featured at the Toppers Annual Convention in Orlando, FL in front of all franchisees in the system. After the convention, franchisees and fans alike went online and voted for their favorite 1991 photo. The winner received a $250 Toppers Gift Card and eternal fame in the Toppers fanatical social community.

Toppers continues to push the envelop in both their marketing and social presence and have plans to launch another significant social imitative in the very near future. To find out more, become a fan and get your buds spanked on Toppers national Facebook fan page by clicking here.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Toppers Pizza featured in Franchise Chatter

Franchise Chatter recently featured a bud spankin' interview with Brett Larrabee, Director of Franchise Development. The article is a Q&A format in which Brett describes why Toppers is a great franchise opportunity. A portion of the interview is below but the article can be read in its entirety by clicking here.

Interested in Owning a Pizza Franchise? You Really Need to Read My Interview with Brett Larrabee, Director of Franchise Development for Toppers Pizza
by Ambrosio

Brett Larrabee started out as a Subway franchisee back in 1986 and built 6 Subway stores. He went on to work with several franchise companies in Florida – Circle K and Burger King, to name a few. Brett became the Franchise Director at Panchero’s for several years and then the Director of Operations with Five Guys in New York City, before coming to Toppers Pizza as Director of Franchise Development.

1. What made you decide to join Toppers Pizza as Director of Franchise Development?

There are a lot of companies that franchise their concept but I’ve learned through the years that there are very few franchises that have a business model that creates wealth for their franchisees. Many of the food franchise business models expect franchisees to provide a large part of the labor in order for them to get a paycheck. Essentially, it’s just like buying a job, and I’ve always felt that a lot of those folks could have just gotten a job and invested their money in the stock market and done better.

But there are a handful of franchise companies that have the right business model to create wealth. Five Guys Burgers has taught me that that there’s a sweet spot in the food franchise business — one that requires about $400,000 in investment, a store buildout under 2,000 square feet, and average unit volume around $950K to $1 million. Five Guys did that and their franchisees have created a fair amount of wealth for themselves in operating that franchise format.

When I left Five Guys, I looked at the field of opportunities and Toppers was the most similar to Five Guys. Instead of a better burger category, it’s a better pizza category.

(Read More)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Toppers Pizza featured on Fox6 WakeUp Milwaukee

Toppers Pizza was recently featured in a segment on Fox6 WakeUp Milwaukee featuring the Spank Tank which aired Friday, July 1 2011. Spank Tank manager, Drew Craker and his colleague, Damon, did an excellent job of introducing the Spank Tank to viewers and describing the role that social media will play when trying to locate the Spank Tank. View the full segment below!