Fast-casual restaurant chain had been considering ‘all options’ as it faced bankruptcy pressure.
MOD Pizza, one of the once-growing group of fast-casual pizza concepts, has agreed sell to Elite Restaurant Group, the companies announced Wednesday.
Bellevue, Wash.-based MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings LLC said Chatsworth, Calif.-based Elite Restaurant Group had acquired 100% MOD’s equity in a merger agreement between the company and an Elite affiliate, a press release said. Terms were not disclosed.
“MOD has an outstanding culture and passionate, loyal guests and employees,” said Michael Nakhleh, president of Elite Restaurant Group, said in a statement. “We recognize the inherent value this represents and look forward to helping MOD write the next chapter in its history.”
The 512-unit MOD Pizza chain earler this week said it was considering “all options,” including a presumable Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. It had closed a number of locations this year.
MOD finished 2023 with 553 locations, a 4.1% increase over 2022. It also grew sales last year by 5.7%, to $699.2 million, according to Technomic data. Up until recently, MOD has been growing steadily:
In 2019, the company ended the year with 467 locations and $483.5 million in sales
In 2020, the company inched up to 489 units despite the COVID pandemic, and $461 million in sales
In 2021, the company finished with 506 locations and $590 million in sales
In 2022, the company finished with 531 locations and $661.8 million in sales
MOD was founded in 2008 by Scott and Ally Svenson and was part of the “build your own” fast-casual pizza category that also included players like Blaze, Pieology, Pie Five, PizzaRev, and others.
“MOD is a beloved brand with a strong following,” said Beth Scott, CEO of MOD Pizza, in a statement. “We’re excited to work with Elite Restaurant Group to strengthen MOD’s future.”
Nakhleh’s Elite has acquired other brands, such as Slater’s 50/50, pizza concepts like Project Pie and Patxi’s Pizza, family-dining Marie Callender's, as well as the Mediterranean concepts Daphne’s and Noon Mediterranean, and cupcake chain Gigi’s Cupcakes.
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