Our franchisees benefit from our brand and history, our market growth and the outstanding interest and loyalty customers show toward our pizza.
We’re Giordano’s. Italian Born™. Chicago Raised.
Brand Stability Equals Franchise Opportunity
We are one of the originators of deep dish Chicago-style stuffed pizza.
Deep dish pizza isn’t just a food, it’s an icon of the city of Chicago. When leading publications, such as the New York Times, tell people about visiting Chicago, deep dish pizza is one of the first things they mention. And we’re mentioned as a leading purveyor.
We’re right up there with the Cubs and the Willis Tower as one of the things that make Chicago, Chicago. We’ve been cited as “the purest example of Chicago pizza” and “a magnificent all-around pizza.” We’ve won the award for best pizza in the Reader’s Choice section of “Chicago” magazine — a strong vote of confidence from our hometown.
Our brand recognition and loyalty makes us one of the best restaurant franchise opportunities.
So, let’s tell you about our pizza. We’re deep dish, but we’re special deep dish. Our pizza isn’t just deep — it’s stuffed. We layer more quality ingredients than any other Chicago deep dish pizza into a carefully constructed double-crust pie. There’s an extra layer of dough.
Then, magic happens in the oven. The ingredients come to their full potential within the dough. It’s something like a soufflé within a pizza. The end result is a pie that delivers a delicious and very satisfying feeling. The feeling is pure Giordano’s.
Seventy percent of our total sales are pizza. 80 percent of that is deep dish stuffed pizza.
Of course, we’re not just for pizza lovers. We have something for everyone, including delicious pastas and Italian fare along with mouth-watering sandwiches, tangy appetizers, fresh salads and gluten-free options.
National Customer Fan Base
As identified with Chicago as we are, we have a national customer fan base. Surveys choose Giordano’s as the best pizza. All over the country, people order our frozen pizza from giordanos.com. That’s an indication to you, as a potential franchise owner, of how popular our pizza is nationwide.
Interest in our pizza happens in some places pretty far from Chicago. In Los Angeles, Chicago-style pizza is making inroads as an alternative to foods the city is more identified with, like vegetarian eateries and artisanal-style cocktails. Los Angelenos will wait up to 45 minutes for a meat-laden Chicago style dish!
In Denver, folks order our pizza to celebrate Chicago Cubs games against the Colorado Rockies. In fact, they order our pizza at any time at all.
In Orlando, Giordano’s rules under the Florida sun.
Our combination of brand recognition and national fan base makes us one of the best pizza franchises and one of the best franchises to own overall.
Long and Proud Restaurant History
It’s a fan base that would make our founders proud.
Our history starts back when Italian immigrant brothers Joseph and Efran Boglio brought over their mother’s recipe. Chicago deep dish stuffed pizza had its origins in an Italian holiday pie. The Boglio brothers established their first pizza place in Chicago in 1978. Then, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they expanded throughout the Chicago suburbs.
In the five-year period between 1995 and 2000, we opened three highly successful restaurants in central Florida.
Currently, the Giordano’s family is 60 restaurants strong (29 franchise locations and 31 company locations).
Steady Market Growth
In the past five years, we have established robust market growth. We’re poised for more robust growth during the coming years, as well.
From 2011 to 2014, we posted three consecutive years of double-digit sales growth.
In 2015, we opened eight new restaurants. We’re now in Indianapolis and Minnesota, as well as Chicagoland and Florida, as a result.
Planned Franchise Expansion
In addition to our steady past growth, we are in a period of planned expansion. That’s good news for you as a potential franchisee. It makes us one of the top franchising opportunities.
We plan to double our units over the next four years, from 2016 to 2020.
In 2016, we will open seven to 10 new franchise units and seven to 10 new company units in multiple markets. We are targeting the following areas for franchise opportunities:
- Atlanta
- Cleveland
- Washington, D.C./Arlington, VA
- Jacksonville, FL
- Los Angeles
- Louisville, KY
- Milwaukee
- Nashville
- Orlando
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Tampa
- San Antonio
- Austin
- Portland, OR
- Miami
- Fort Lauderdale
- Oklahoma City
- Tulsa
- Houston
- Charlotte
High Level of Consumer Interest and Satisfaction
We’re expanding in part because of the high level of interest and satisfaction consumers show toward Giordano’s. This interest and satisfaction make Giordano’s a top franchise opportunity.
Our market research shows that Giordano’s is thought of as an iconic brand across our initial home markets in Chicagoland and in the Midwest. Our name is synonymous with deep dish Chicago-style pizza.
Seventy-three percent of customers believe that Giordano’s is the best pizza on the market, both in the Chicago market and across the country in the newer markets.
Giordano’s is the first to be considered when it comes to thinking about places to get a pizza, across all markets.
When potential customers were asked if they’d visit a Giordano’s if one opened up near them, 96 percent said there were “highly likely” to visit.
Again: 96 percent are highly likely to visit your potential franchise. That’s what we call customer satisfaction! Brand interest like that is one of the chief benefits of purchasing a franchise.
The success of our pizza proves that our brand appeals to a diverse set of customers, from tourists in places like downtown Chicago and Orlando to more traditional suburban customers.
How do people find out about us? Sixty-four percent have either always known about Giordano’s or find out through word-of-mouth.
We are very successful across what restaurant businesses call the “casual dining options” set. Our competitors in this sector are Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden and Buffalo Wild Wings. Diners choose us over our competitors because of desired cuisine (pizza) and better taste.
Strong Customer Loyalty
Our customers are also very loyal and very active. That’s very good news for people interested in becoming part of our franchise family.
Eighty-five percent of our customers have visited Giordano’s within the past year, so there is great potential for repeat business. Giordano’s also enjoys a high net promoter score: 70 percent are likely to recommend Giordano’s. Eighty-three percent of customers scored their likelihood of returning as 9 or 10 out of a scale of 10. Eighty-five percent of customers express a very high degree of satisfaction with the food, the atmosphere, the menu and the variety of menu options.
Giordano’s is the most social of all pizza chains, with the highest number of followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We are the most followed restaurant chain in Chicago on social media.
Last but not least, we lead in Google searches across all Chicago pizza chains.