America’s Hometown Pizza Place honors Steve Stancil and Jamey Brown
Pizza Inn, the fresh and innovative pizza restaurant with a local hometown feel, honored its top franchisees at the annual Pizza Inn Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The H.M. Poythress Award was presented to Steve Stancil from North Carolina. The prestigious award, named for one of Pizza Inn’s original franchisees, is given to a franchisee that has made major contributions to the brand. It is considered to be a lifetime achievement award. Stancil owns two locations in Rocky Mount, N.C.
“H.M. Poythress was legendary for his passion for the brand,” said Bob Bafundo, president of Pizza Inn. “Steve is an exceptional example of a franchisee who shares this passion and leads by example. His commitment to Pizza Inn is unparalleled.”
Jamey Brown from Knoxville, Tenn., received the Griff Glover Franchisee of the Year Award, which symbolizes exemplary dedication to customer satisfaction, community service and team leadership.
“This award is so well-deserved,” said Bafundo. “Jamey has built an exceptional business on a foundation of strong guest service and is the franchisee I typically seek out to assist in solving any operational challenge. He is always happy to help and has provided a tremendous service and leadership to our brand and our franchisees.”
The Paul Turner Award was given to Keith Herrley from West Texas and is representative of a franchisee who has made a significant contribution of service to the franchisee community. Keith recently completed his term as president of the Pizza Inn Franchise Association. Keith Middleton of Brunswick, Ga., received the “Keep the Fire Burning” award, symbolic of a franchisee who consistently grows their business year-over-year. The Legacy Awards were also given to Jim Baenisch of Richland Hills, Texas, and Donny Broussard of Port Neches, Texas, who have both been franchisees with Pizza Inn for over 50 years.
In 1958, two Texas brothers opened the first Pizza Inn across from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As word spread of the restaurant’s exceptional pizza and friendly service, so did Pizza Inn locations. In no time, taste buds across the country experienced the made-from-scratch crispy, crackery Original Thin crust and tangy signature sauce that are still hallmarks of the Pizza Inn brand today. Pizza Inn continues to be a leader in pizza innovation through menu additions like the Taco Pizza, the first dessert “pizzert” pizza and the chain’s hallmark bacon cheeseburger pizza.
Founded in 1958, Pizza Inn is an international pizza chain featuring traditional and specialty pizzas, as well as freshly made pastas, sandwiches and desserts. Pizza Inn was recently inducted into the Pizza Hall of Fame by PMQ Magazine. Pizza Inn is a subsidiary of RAVE Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAVE) based in Dallas. RAVE owns, franchises and supplies more than 300 Pizza Inn and Pie Five restaurants operating domestically and internationally. For more information, please visit pizzainn.com.
