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MOD Pizza leads the pack in growth — again

2019 Top 200 preview: The fast-casual brand added nearly 100 locations in the Latest Year

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

May 21, 2019

2 Min Read
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MOD Pizza once again is the fastest-growing concept among the country’s largest chains, according to the latest Top 200 data. 

Sales at the fast-casual pizza chain based in Bellevue, Wash., grew by 44.7% in the year ended December 2018, to $390.7 million, after having grown by 80% in the Preceding Year. It opened a net 98 restaurants — 77 company-owned and 21 franchised — closing out the year with 395 locations. That’s 33% more restaurants than the year before, meaning, given the even larger growth in sales, that average unit volumes are on the rise, too.

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MOD takes a whimsical approach to some of its marketing initiatives. For example, its seasonal limited-time offers have human names: The Ruthie had red sauce, pepperoni, arugula, jalapeños, mozzarella, grated Parmesan and hot honey; the Isaac had olive oil, garlic, ricotta, red onion, roasted red tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette and basil.

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But it also operates with the serious mission of making the world a better place. Husband-and-wife team Scott and Ally Svenson founded MOD Pizza with the intention of having a positive social impact, including hiring people who might have trouble getting jobs elsewhere, such as those transitioning from prison or recovering from drug addiction. Then they pay them well over minimum wage and give them a free meal during their shift. In 2017 MOD donated more than $1 million to community organizations.

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With many consumers placing more importance on doing business with companies that align with their values, Scott Svenson has said that MOD has benefited financially from its approach to social responsibility. The chain has raised more than $180 million from equity investors who also see value in MOD’s approach to taking care of its employees and the communities it serves.

Read about more 2019 growth chains here >>

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@informa.com

Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

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MOD Pizza

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality.

Hi is responsible for spotting and reporting on F&B trends across the country for both publications. 

He is the co-host of a podcast, Menu Talk with Pat and Bret, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities, and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: bret.thorn@informa.com

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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