Toppers Pizza on FOX 6 Milwaukee

Amber Stark & Merrill Thomas of Toppers Pizza on FOX 6 Milwaukee in a segment titled, "Amber Stark, Merrill Thomas talk about pizza and tailgating."  Click here or tune in below.

Toppers Pizza Receives Hunger’s Hope Award from Feeding America

MILWAUKEE – The connection between hunger relief and Toppers Pizza will be celebrated when CEO Scott Gittrich will accept Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin’s Hunger’s Hope Award on behalf of the brand at the nonprofit’s Annual Dinner to be held on Oct. 23, 2012.

The award comes after a successful partnership between Toppers and Feeding America that started in 2011 when Toppers raised more than 370,000 meals for the charity in 2011 alone. Toppers has committed to raise a minimum of $70,000 by the end of 2012, which will help provide 560,000 meals to those in need. As the brand continues to expand in 2013, Toppers has pledged to raise $100,000 for Feeding America, which will help provide 800,000 meals.

“To receive the Hunger’s Hope Award from our friends at Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin is a huge honor,” said Gittrich. “We originally decided to partner with Feeding America because of their commitment to giving back directly to the communities they serve, just like our franchisees do.”

The Hunger’s Hope Award is given annually to donors and supporters who make an extraordinary effort toward alleviating hunger in their community. The award will be presented by Bonnie Bellehumer, president of Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin and Ann Maher, board chair.

“At Toppers, we are committed to helping those in need,” continued Gittrich. “We look forward to continuing to be a partner with Feeding America for a long time to come and help feed even more people in the future.”

Toppers featured in Milwaukee Business Journal

Toppers was recently featured in an article in the Milwaukee Business Journal. The article highlighted Toppers newest opening in South Shore, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The reporter, Stacy Vogel Davis, also lends her personal experience with Toppers in the article, writing her memories of the Bay View opening last October. A portion of the article is below and can be read in its entirety by clicking here.

Toppers opens Saturday in South Milwaukee

Another Toppers Pizza is opening in the Milwaukee area, continuing the chain’s growth in southeast Wisconsin.

The restaurant, Toppers’ 10th in the Milwaukee area, will open Saturday at 2971 S. Chicago Ave. in South Milwaukee. Franchisee Dave Gilewski also owns a Toppers in Franklin.

The new shop will continue Toppers’ tradition of giving away free pizza for a year to the first 50 people through the door Saturday. When the Bay View Toppers opened last October, I saw people lined up outside the night before to ensure they were part of the lucky 50.

(Read More)

Heating Up The Streets: Toppers Pizza ‘Spank Tank’ Unveiled

Late night hunger, beware! Toppers Pizza is gearing up to launch its latest innovation: The Toppers ‘Spank Tank.’ On June 24, Toppers Pizza will unveil its first food truck for the pizza-loving public of Milwaukee, WI to enjoy. With plans to service the late night bar scene, the Spank Tank will call the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Toppers location its home. It will sell Toppers’ world famous Topperstix and, for the very first time, House and one-topping pizzas by the slice.

“You may have heard of the food trucks craze, but I can guarantee you’ve never seen anything like the Spank Tank,” said Bridget Keeler, Toppers manager of marketing. “This will turn heads and cause complete insanity when we roll this thing out on the streets of Milwaukee. Its presence is unbelievable.”

Just like the slogan suggests, the Spank Tank will be spanking customer’s buds with “a piece all summer long.” It was an idea that hatched back in 2009 and since then, the Toppers team has developed a way to turn its brick and mortar location mobile. The truck includes a full-size oven and fully functional kitchen. At 26 feet wide and 13 feet tall, the Spank Tank is equipped to handle Milwaukee’s late night hunger pangs.

“Bar time will never be the same,” said Drew Craker, manager of Toppers Spank Tank. “Being behind the wheel of the Spank Tank will be like being a famous celebrity…all eyes on you, its show time baby.”

According to Drew Craker, he plans to be at all the hot bar spots multiple times a night in the Spank Tank selling fresh Toppers pizza to the brand’s core customer – the college student.

What else is in store with the Spank Tank? Toppers fanatics will have the opportunity to rent the Spank Tank for their events. While Toppers plans to develop several more food trucks in other Toppers Pizza markets across the country, for now, it’s just Milwaukee that will benefit from the truck promising to give you “a piece all summer long.”

“We are a 20 year old brand that refuses to stop at mediocre,” said Keeler. “At every turn, we are thinking of new ways for our customers and fanatics to interact with the Toppers brand. We believe the Spank Tank is something extraordinary that will get people talking. Now let’s hear what Milwaukee has to say.”

Toppers growth plans featured in The Business Journal

The article focuses on Toppers growth and development, with very specific numbers and statistics to back up its claims about Toppers rapid growth. It explains how Toppers’ irreverent marketing and unique personality have strengthened consumer loyalty, and discusses Toppers’ 20 year history, which started off slow but flourished once the brand became a franchise. It also goes into detail about Toppers’ future plans, from their focus on Midwestern states outside of Wisconsin to their eventual plans of “world domination” and an island called “Topperville!” This article provides a wonderful illustration of where Toppers has been and where they are headed, and should be a great way to peak consumer interest and generate potential leads. Check out a portion of the story below or read the full article here.

Toppers Pizza looking to grow
The Business Journal - by Stacy Vogel Davis

After rapid growth in the Milwaukee market, Whitewater-based Toppers Pizza has ambitious plans for expansion in the upper Midwest in the next three years.

The chain opened its eighth Milwaukee-area restaurant in Bay View this month, five years after opening its first Milwaukee location.

Toppers plans to open three more Milwaukee stores in the next two years, but its main targets are states such as Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana, said Brett Larrabee, who was recently hired as Toppers’ first director of franchise development. (Read More).

Toppers' Bay View opening discussed in Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Toppers Pizza was recently featured in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s food blog, “Taste Buds.” The article discusses Toppers’ newest and perhaps final opening in Milwaukee, happening this Saturday, Oct. 16 and officially saturates the Milwaukee market. It also spreads the word about how Toppers will give the first 50 customers in line free food for a year, and mentions Toppers plans to expand throughout the Midwest. Check out a portion of the article below or read the full story here.

Toppers Pizza opening Saturday in Bay View
By Carol Deptolla of the Journal Sentinel

The newest Milwaukee-area Toppers Pizza is opening at Saturday in Bay View, and the company says it's likely the last for the area for a while.

The store, at 2262 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., opens at 10:30 a.m., and the Whitewater-based chain's openings tend to draw a crowd -- the first 50 customers in line receive free food for a year.

According to the company, the Bay View store -- the eighth Toppers in and around Milwaukee -- represents the saturation point for the market, at least for the time being, so no further franchises are planned here. (Read More)

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.