Toppers Pizza in Chicago Sun-Times

Toppers Pizza in Chicago Sun-Times

We were featured in the Chicago Sun-Times. New Toppers Pizza franchisee, Jackie Apkarian is opening a Toppers location in Bucktown, in Chicago, with plans to open a second location in Oak Park and eventually a third location in the Chicagoland area. Toppers will continue to grow in Chicago this year with three other stores planned to open.

Read the full article here. 

Toppers Pizza in Crain's Chicago Business

Toppers Pizza in Crain's Chicago Business

We were featured in Crain’s Chicago Business. Toppers Pizza is set to open more than five locations in Chicago in 2015 and bring more than 100 jobs to the city. The first opening is in Bucktown on February 16th, 2015. The owner of the Bucktown Toppers is a single mother named Jackie Apkarian who learned about Toppers because her daughter is doing pre-med at Marquette University and her and her friends would bring it home. Jackie liked the pizza so much that she looked into the brand and decided to become a franchise owner. Jackie also has a 16 year-old son. She’s excited to open this first location at 1658 N. Milwaukee Street in Chicago, and then has plans to open two more.

The article also talks about how this is the first of nine locations to open in the Chicago area in the next two years, and how Toppers looks to target 18- to 30-year-old young adults as the brand continues to expand.

Read the full article here. 

Toppers Pizza in DNA Info Chicago

Toppers Pizza in DNA Info Chicago

Toppers Pizza was featured in DNA Info Chicago. The article talks about how Toppers Pizza is expanding throughout the city of Chicago and opening up in Wrigleyville, Bucktown and Lincoln Park.

Scott Gittrich, Toppers CEO and founder, talks about how Chicago is right in Toppers Pizza’s backyard and how the brand has grown throughout the entire state of Wisconsin.  The article mentions how the goal is to open the Wrigleyville location by December 11th, and Mark Cairns spoke about how Toppers is targeting neighborhoods with younger residents.

Read the full article here. 

Toppers Pizza in Crain's Chicago Business

Toppers Pizza in Crain's Chicago Business

Hello everybody!  We were featured in an article in Crain'sChicago Business on September 30th, 2014 featuring Toppers Pizza Founder & CEO Scott Gittrich.

The article talks about how Toppers Pizza is going to be opening four new locations in Chicago by January of next year. The article goes through the addresses of the locations and Scott talks about how he sees the brand as the little guy in between the Pizza Huts and the great local place. Furthermore, the article talks about how there are currently two locations in Chicago and how Toppers is looking to open 10-12 locations by the end of 2015.

Read the full article here. 

Toppers Pizza in the Chicago Sun-Times Voices

Toppers Pizza in the Chicago Sun-Times Voices

Toppers Pizza was recently featured in the Chicago Sun-Times Voices. The article talks about how Toppers Pizza will be opening a location in Wrigleyville at 3404 N. Sheffield in August. Chris Cheek talks about how Toppers got its start in Champaign and that Toppers is looking for areas with a lot of night traffic, foot traffic and nightlife in Chicago to open. Furthermore, the article talks about how this is one of eight stores that will be opening up in Chicagoland this year and that the first will be opening up in Mount Prospect.

You can view the full article here. 

Toppers Pizza in Crain's Chicago Business

Toppers Pizza was recently featured in Crain's Chicago Business in an article titled, "Toppers Pizza plans more local stores."  The brief discusses the expansion plans for Toppers Pizza in Chicago. Jackie discusses the areas within the Wicker Park neighborhood where their expansion is likely to occur. Chris Cheek discusses the overall expansion plans in Chicago. Click here to read the entire article or see below.

Toppers Pizza plans more local stores

Whitewater, Wis.-based Toppers Pizza plans to open at least 12 more restaurants in the Chicago area over the next three years. One likely will open on or near Milwaukee Avenue between Armitage Avenue and Honore Street, followed by two more by the end of 2015, said Jacqueline Apkarian, a new franchisee. Ms. Apkarian said she expects to sign a lease on a 1,600- to 2,400-square-foot space by

October. The delivery chain, which offers mac 'n cheese pizza, is seeking 10-year leases for nine Chicago-area locations of 1,100 to 1,600 square feet, with a focus on downtown, said Chris Creek, chief development officer for Toppers. Two franchises are open in Chicago, 727 S. State St. and 120 S. Halsted St., according to the company website.

(Read More)

Toppers Comes to Chicago's South Loop!

Toppers Pizza will be opening a new location in Chicago's South Loop!  To celebrate the opening, Toppers will host a grand opening event on November 29 from 11am – 6pm, offering its fanatical customers some outrageous deals on some of their favorite Toppers menu items, including $1 single Topperstix (their World Famous version of cheesy breadsticks) and $1 one-topping MyZAs (a personal-sized pizza cut in four slices), and other prizes and giveaways to be awarded throughout the celebration. (Fanatics should watch facebook.com/toppersrockshttp://www.facebook.com/ToppersRocks?fref=ts for details)

Stop by 727 S State Street on November 29 from 11am -- 6pm to join in on the fun!

Toppers Pizza featured in Pizza Marketing Quarterly

Toppers Pizza was recently featured in an article titled “Toppers Pizza Taking on Chicago” in Pizza Marketing Quarterly. The brief was based off of the article we in Crain’s Chicago Business. The article discusses how Toppers may be the next big thing in Chicago pizza. The article also shares some of unique the Toppers menu items, and a link to the full Crain’s article. Click here for the article, or read it below.

Toppers Pizza Taking on Chicago

"An unassuming pizza company based in a strip mall in Whitewater, Wis., just might be the next big thing in Chicago pies," according to Crain's Chicago Business.

"Toppers Pizza, a self-described "eclectic chain," caters to 18- to 34-year-olds with pizzas like the "Hangover Helper" (Canadian bacon, regular bacon, green peppers, onions and potatoes) and the "Mac 'n' Cheese" (exactly what it sounds like). The menu also includes quesadillas, bread sticks, sub sandwiches and wings."

(Read More)

Toppers featured in Crain's Chicago Business

Toppers Pizza was recently featured in an article titled “Toppers aims to win over Chicago pizza snobs” in Crain’s Chicago Business. In the article, Scott Gittrich discusses Toppers' plans for expansion in 2012, including plans to have 52 to 55 locations open by the end of this year. The article also discusses Toppers development plans for 2013 in the Chicagoland area, with the goal of opening 10 more locations by the end of 2013 in areas such as Lincoln Park and Bucktown. Toppers also plans for nationwide development, which includes plans to have 150 stores by 2015, and 500 by 2020. Click here for the full article, or begin reading below.

Toppers aims to win over Chicago pizza snobs
by Brigid Sweeney

An unassuming pizza company based in a strip mall in Whitewater, Wis., just might be the next big thing in Chicago pies.

Toppers Pizza, a self-described "eclectic chain," caters to 18- to 34-year-olds with pizzas like the "Hangover Helper" (Canadian bacon, regular bacon, green peppers, onions and potatoes) and the "Mac 'n' Cheese" (exactly what it sounds like). The menu also includes quesadillas, bread sticks, sub sandwiches and wings.

"We're bridging the gap between sit-down and takeout," founder and CEO Scott Gittrich said. "We're not the $5 pizza, but we're not the $30 pizza, either."

(Read More)

Toppers featured in Chicago Tribune

Toppers was recently featured in the Chicago Tribune. The article, written by Erin Chan Ding gives a comprehensive overview of the Toppers Pizza chain, including its college-aged demographic, menu items, company sales, number of locations and even how much it costs to invest in a franchise. The article goes on to profile Greektown owner Robin Pearce. It also includes perspective from a pizza customer and a local pizza store owner. It includes quotes from Pearce, president Scott Gittrich and director of franchise development Scott Iversen. A portion of the article is included below and can be read in its entirety by clicking here.
Chain bets on Chicago's pizza appetite
Wisconsin-based Toppers enters city with Greektown location, plans more

In a formerly empty Greektown storefront, one of Chicago's newest pizza places opens Saturday, serving up a cheeky attitude, laid-back decor and quirky fare aimed at pleasing the college kids and 20-somethings it's aiming to attract.

Slogans for Toppers Pizza dot the windows, declaring: "Spank Your Buds" and "Bad Pizza Sucks.'' Its menu says, "For a Free Taste of Big-Chain Pizza Just Eat the Cardboard Under Ours."

"Yeah, we're kind of sophomoric," said Scott Gittrich, president of Toppers Pizza Inc., a chain based in Whitewater, Wis. "We talk smack with our customers. We talk smack with each other. We've just always been like that."

Reveling in its own irreverence, Toppers has served its carb-laden food to Midwestern 18- to 24-year-olds for the past 20 years and now has big plans for more units here. But there's a big question to be answered: Can a place that sells mac-and-cheese or potato pizzas survive in a town known for its pizza prowess?

"The reason we think we can make it in Chicago and that we will make it is that there are several million proven pizza lovers in Chicago," said Gittrich, 48, who started Toppers in 1991. "We have a distinct place in the market. We don't do it the way other people do it. The way we talk to our customer, our menu, the way we interact with our customer is simply different."

(Read More)