Leading Family-Style Pizza Chain Honored with Top Spot in Notable Franchise Industry Ranking
Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain for over 45 years, known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperonis, Mountain-sized pizzas, and dough made fresh daily, has proudly received FRANdata’s 2024 TopScore FUND Award. Scoring 915 points, which was the highest score in the Food Category among all evaluated franchise systems, Mountain Mike’s Pizza was recognized for its industry-leading support of access to financing and lending opportunities for franchisees. The respected annual award was announced at the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas on March 21, with the growing pizza chain’s CEO, Jim Metevier, in attendance to accept the prestigious industry accolade.
“This recognition is a testament to our talented franchise support team members, who work tirelessly to provide new, longstanding and prospective franchisees with the critical tools they need to build and maintain successful restaurants throughout our growing franchise system in dozens of markets across the U.S.,” said Metevier. “It’s an honor to be named FRANdata’s TopScore FUND Award winner, as this recognition underscores our relentless dedication to our franchisees and their commitment to the communities they impact, the people they uplift and the passionate guests who love ‘Pizza the Way It Oughta Be.’”
The FUND score is a franchise credit risk score which rates 12 credit risk categories such as franchise business success rates, franchise unit profitability and franchisee support. Franchise brands like Mountain Mike’s Pizza that excel in these categories make it easy for lenders to do business with the company and its franchisees. The FUND scoring system is embraced by banks of all sizes that collectively represent more than five trillion dollars in assets and the majority of Small Business Association franchise financing. Paired with an assessment of the franchisee borrower, lenders rely on FUND scores to determine the overall risk profile associated with a loan, set appropriate terms and establish appropriate loan capital reserves.
“We have been thoroughly impressed by the consistent and remarkable growth demonstrated by the Mountain Mike’s brand over the past eight years. With a compounded historical success rate that is consistently exceeding 95%, as analyzed in their FUND report, it’s evident that the franchise is thriving,” said Darrell Johnson, CEO of FRANdata. “Their annual unit success rate further highlights the flourishing of new franchisees in their inaugural year and is a testament to the strength of the brand and the support provided. With a combination of steady unit growth in alignment with industry peers and bolstered by a strong financial position and experienced management team, Mountain Mike’s Pizza is poised for continued success in the near future.”
In addition to the TopScore FUND Award, Mountain Mike’s Pizza has continued to rack up numerous industry accolades, including two consecutive years inside the top-100 companies on Entrepreneur’s 2023 Franchise 500® List. Entrepreneur also awarded Mountain Mike’s a top-30 position in its Top 150 Franchises for Veterans ranking, along with a top-40 position in its Top 150 Brands for Multi-Unit Owners. Other notable rankings include QSR Magazine’s Top Franchise Deals Report and a 25-spot jump on the Franchise Times Top 400 list.
Last year, Mountain Mike’s Pizza opened 15 locations across the U.S., including highly anticipated debuts in Texas, Colorado and Los Angeles County, and added more than 60 units to its pipeline through franchise recruitment and development. The fast-growing chain also inked multi-unit deals in Washington and Wisconsin, bringing development to 10 total states across the U.S. With plans to open 30 restaurants in 2024, the brand is on pace to surpass the 300-unit milestone by mid-2024 and expects to reach the 400-unit milestone by the end of 2026, which would mark a 120% increase in restaurants since 2017.
To build upon the brand’s success while satisfying consumer demand for higher-quality pizza and family-friendly dining options, Mountain Mike’s is extending opportunities to new franchise partners looking to diversify their franchise brand portfolio with a popular family pizza concept. To learn more about new franchise opportunities, visit MountainMikesFranchise.com.
For more information about the FRANdata TopScore awards, go to FRANdata.com/fund-topscore-award.
Since 1978, Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperonis, Mountain-sized pizzas, and dough made fresh daily has been a popular choice for families, serving “Pizza the Way it Oughta Be!” In addition to offering carryout, its own in-house delivery, and four third-party delivery options, Mountain Mike’s provides a family-friendly dine-in environment making it easy for guests to enjoy the brand’s signature experience wherever they are. Most of its nearly 300 locations feature a kids’ activity area with arcade games, dedicated party rooms and big screen TVs throughout, making Mountain Mike’s an ideal place for sports teams, family gatherings, group fundraising events and private parties alike. With a menu of signature pizzas, chicken wings, garlic knots, fresh salads, sharable desserts, and a selection of beer and wine, there’s something for everyone at Mountain Mike’s. Guests may also take advantage of streamlined ordering via the Mountain Rewards app to earn exclusive offers and personalized rewards towards free food. This year, Mountain Mike’s was named as one of America’s Favorite Restaurant Chains by Newsweek, as well as one of the Top Beloved Brands by Nation’s Restaurant News. For a complete list of locations and the full menu, visit MountainMikesPizza.com or follow Mountain Mike’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
FRANdata is an industry-leading research and consulting firm offering market intelligence that enables our clients to grow their business in franchising. FRANdata offers independent, comprehensive market insight focusing on the franchise ecosystem. By leveraging the largest database of proprietary franchise information in the industry, FRANdata harnesses facts and figures into winning strategies that transform mediocre results into highly successful outcomes for our clients. FRANdata is the creator of the FUND (Franchise Credit Scoring) report which is relied upon by lenders with over a trillion dollars in assets to assess their franchise credit risks. For more information go to FRANdata.com.
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