Nation’s leading fast-casual pizza brand celebrates grand opening by partnering with UCF
Pizza lovers in Florida are about to get a triple dose of Pie Five Pizza when the trend-setting concept unveils its first restaurant in Orlando this week.
Area residents will officially welcome the trend-setting pizza eatery, located at 11325 University Blvd., just one mile west of the University of Central Florida, at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 16. The opening marks the third of its kind in Florida and Orlando’s introduction to handcrafted, personalized pizzas using only the freshest ingredients, baked to order at one great price. The “five” in Pie Five means it all happens in five minutes or less!
It’s an exciting time for local franchise owner Gale Lemerand, whose company, Ten Pies, LLC, helped introduce the leading fast-casual pizza brand to the Sunshine State. The Orlando restaurant is the latest of up to 10 Pie Five franchise units Lemerand was awarded for the Orlando, Melbourne, Daytona Beach and Gainesville markets.
Ten Pies, LLC opened its first Pie Five in Port Orange in January 2014. Last September, it also brought Pie Five’s bevy of handcrafted specialty pies to Daytona near the International Speedway.
With overwhelming approval from local residents and tourists alike in both cities, Ten Pies Chief Operating Officer Libor Vitu is confident they’ll receive the same hearty welcome in Orlando as well.
“It’s an exciting time because we know another great city is about to join the Pie Five craze. It’s hard to resist the idea of creating your own perfect, individualized pizza with all the fresh, high-quality ingredients you love and have it baked-to-order in less than five minutes,” said Vitu. “We’re changing the way people experience pizza and we couldn’t be more ready to bring this game-changer to the people of Orlando!”
Doors open at 11 a.m. on Friday. Mix 105.1 FM will be onsite from 6-8 p.m., adding to the festivities with merchandise and food giveaways.
The new restaurant is donating half of its sales from pre-opening training events held this week to Knight-Thon, UCF’s Dance Marathon and its largest student-run philanthropy. Pie Five’s contribution will help the group continue to educate, inspire and unite UCF’s campus and community to provide ongoing support for Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
“These are extraordinary students working for an equally extraordinary cause, and we’re looking forward to using the excitement around our opening to support the important work they’re doing for the children of Orlando,” said General Manager Kevin Ringueberg.
At Pie Five, guests can choose from more than a million combinations of handcrafted personal pizzas and a variety of specialty pie choices, all for one affordable price. Add a hand-made salad and dessert, prepared fresh every day, and the entire meal will be ready in less than five minutes. The rapidly expanding chain is capitalizing on growing consumer demand for fresh dining options and artisan pizzas in stylish environments without the wait.
Pie Five Pizza has been named among Fast Casual’s 2014 Top 15 “Movers & Shakers,” a 2012 Hot Concepts winner by Nation’s Restaurant News and one of “10 Hot New Restaurant Chains from Established Brands” by Forbes.com. With the Orlando opening, the company now has 33 locations in nine states (Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia) with more than 270 announced franchise units under contract in 14 states and Washington, DC.
Hours of operation will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. A complete menu and more information are available at PieFivePizza.com.
Pie Five is a subsidiary of RAVE Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAVE), based in the Dallas suburb of The Colony, Texas. RAVE owns, franchises and supplies nearly 300 Pie Five and Pizza Inn restaurants operating domestically and internationally. Pie Five Pizza Co. is the leading brand in the rapidly growing fast-casual pizza space, offering individual handcrafted pizzas with fresh ingredients made to order in less than five minutes. For more information, please visit PieFivePizza.com.
