2024 was a difficult year for some major pizza brands.
Papa Johns saw its comparable sales fall during the first three quarters of last year. Pizza Hut’s same-store sales fell 3% in the U.S. as of Sept. 30, year-to-date, according to Yum Brands’ earnings. The brand also faced a legal battle with operator EYM Pizza over alleged breaches of contract. EYM, accounting for about 2% of Pizza Hut’s U.S. store system, ultimately filed for Chapter 11. Mod Pizza, an ailing fast casual brand, narrowly escaped Chapter 11 when it was acquired by Elite Restaurant Group in the summer.
But others, like Domino’s, saw comps and store counts rise. Challenger chains secured some success, too, as some of the country’s pizza giants stumbled. Here’s how three up-and-coming pizza chains — Marco’s Pizza, Mr Gatti’s Pizza and Donato’s Pizza — performed last year.
Marco’s Pizza:
Marco’s Pizza hit the 1,200-store mark in 2024 off the strength of 70 new store openings. The brand signed 85 new franchise agreements, with 65% of those involving existing operators. Marco’s is looking to attract new multi-unit operators and help existing franchisees grow, according to a recap of the chain’s 2024 performance.
Now the brand is preparing for non-traditional development and international growth, including a 50-unit master franchise agreement for Mexico City, the largest city in North America. It is also considering ghost kitchens in urban markets.
Marco’s debuted a digital-centric store design in Boise, Idaho in the summer, which features a pickup door and window alongside warming racks and pizza lockers for orders, and in-store, in-app ordering with QR codes. The chain added a proprietary cloud-based platform across its system, according to the press release.
In addition to design and tech changes, Marco’s has made use of limited-time offers, like its Fiery Flavors menu, to gin up brand buzz and bring in new customers. Under Kathleen Kennedy, the recently appointed director of culinary innovation, the brand will continue using new menu items to drive excitement.
Marco’s has set its eyes on eventually unseating Papa Johns as the fourth biggest pizza chain in the U.S. and has identified 4,200 possible locations.
Mr Gatti’s Pizza
While Mr Gatti’s systemwide sales growth was a relatively anemic 0.4% in 2024, the chain signed 39 franchise development agreements in the year, putting it at 234 restaurants open or in some stage of development, according to a press release reviewing the brand’s 2024.
The chain, which has traditionally focused on large family entertainment centers, developed a c-store model focused on off-premise dining to speed up its development. In July, Mr Gatti’s said it would open 92 units within Walmart locations. The chain opened 12 in-store concepts in November and December across Texas and Oklahoma. Another 23 are under construction, with expected openings in the first and second quarters of this year. All locations are anticipated to be open by 2026.
Donato’s Pizza:
Donato’s Pizza currently has about 175 restaurants and 300 non-traditional locations. In 2024, the chain signed its first development deals in Virginia, North Carolina and Texas, and additional multi-unit deals in South Carolina, Florida and Maryland, according to a summary of its 2024 performance.
Texas is poised to be the crown jewel of Donato’s system; the Ohio-based brand is aiming to open 100 units in the coming years. In the short term, Donato’s has identified immediate opportunities in Waco, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and east Texas. Such expansion would make the pizza brand a major player in that market — something of a mirror of Papa Johns’ strategy of building up market density as a prerequisite to expansion.
This year, the pizzeria plans to add three to five locations in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, CEO Kevin King said.
“Our business model is the right fit for franchise groups looking to develop in Texas,” King said.
Donato’s made a number of major changes in 2024, including the appointment of King as CEO, the deployment of “an AI-powered call system across the franchise network,” and a partnership with Appetronix to develop an automated pizza kitchen.
Like Marco’s, Donato’s turned to menu innovation to bring in consumers, and introduced LTOs and new items like Mariachi Cheese Bread, Italian Cheese Bread, Stuffed Crust Pizza, the Calzato and Bakery Crust Pizza.
