Fast-growing pizza brand’s newest owner/operator brings plenty of brand experience to her prime Texas location
With its unique flavors, bold recipes and world-class technology, pizza fans and franchise owners love Toppers Pizza. In fact, one new franchisee is very familiar with Toppers – because she has already worked with the company for years.
Tashina “Tish” Howard worked for a franchisee before becoming one herself. She worked for the Smooth Money LLC franchisee group in Wisconsin, which operates the Appleton, De Pere, Green Bay East, Green Bay West and Menasha locations. In 2017, Howard was awarded the Caro Johnson Spirit Award – in honor of one of the first Toppers franchisees – at the 15th annual Toppers Pizza convention.
She purchased the Fort Worth-Texas Christian University (TCU) store, located at 2901 W. Berry Street, and took over the restaurant on Feb. 12.
“I started working at Toppers in 2011 as a part-time delivery driver to help pay my way through nursing school,” said Howard. “I earned my degree and worked as a registered nurse, but could never quite bring myself to let go of Toppers and the amazing time I had working there. So I took a leave of absence from nursing to devote myself full-time to Toppers, and loved the franchisees I worked with.”
“I loved the core values, the vibe, the freedom…everything about it,” she continued. “And one day, I turned to Aaron (one of the franchisees) and said ‘I think one day I’m going to be an owner, too’ – and soon after, that opportunity presented itself! After working my way up – part-time delivery driver, shift manager, store manager, area supervisor, and finally senior area supervisor – until one day Aaron called and asked if I wanted to move to Texas. A franchisee was selling his location, and the business partners wanted to know if I’d go in on it with them. And here I am, commuting between Wisconsin and Texas to my very own Toppers franchise – and it’s been a blast!”
“The people who have a personal connection to Toppers Pizza are natural fits as franchisees,” said Greg Wold, Vice President of Marketing. “ It’s nice to ‘keep it in the family’ and have great new owners like Tish who know Toppers from the inside!”
For more information on Toppers Pizza franchising or to order online for delivery or pickup, please visit Toppers.com.
Founded in 1991 as an alternative to big-box pizza, Toppers is built on a bold attitude with the product to back it up. Headquartered in Whitewater, Wis., 70+ Toppers locations are on a mission to redefine what customers should expect from QSR pizza. The menu features unique flavors, bold recipes, crave-worthy Topperstix, signature wings, specialty desserts and a growing selection of offerings for diverse lifestyles. By consistently giving customers what they want, Toppers has forged an untapped space in the pizza industry and is thriving in a digital-first, post-pandemic world. World-class technology ranking among the top QSR pizza concepts, consistent menu innovation, a powerfully focused digital media strategy and Gen Z-centric social media channels drive 75%+ of sales online for the brand. With franchisees achieving a $1,100,000+ average unit volume across the entire system, Toppers Pizza is primed for major growth and is looking for like-minded franchisees to join its system. For more information, visit Toppers.com/franchise and follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram.
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