Dive Brief:
- Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a roughly 300-unit pizza chain based in California, has promoted longtime COO Jim Metevier to CEO, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive.
- Metevier joined the company in 2018 as COO, roughly a year after it was acquired by Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme, who have pushed the company to grow beyond its regional base.
- As COO, Metevier helped lead the brand’s expansion into several new markets, and the chain is looking to make a play for national growth through franchising under his direction.
Dive Insight:
At the start of 2020, Mountain Mike’s system, which is entirely franchised, was primarily concentrated in California, with one outlet each in Utah and Oregon. According to the chain’s 2023 franchise disclosure document, by the end of 2022, it had entered Texas, Idaho, Arizona and Nevada. Those stores open throughout all of 2022 saw average unit volumes just shy of $1.1 million. According to the press release, the chain is poised to enter the Colorado, Wisconsin and Washington markets.
According to the press release, under Metevier’s watch as COO, “the brand increased same store sales by 32% over the past five years,” and saw digital sales reach 43% of its systemwide sales mix.
Britt said Metevier’s promotion to CEO was “a natural milepost for the Mountain Mike’s Pizza brand, as he’s already proven himself to be an integral part of our success and growth,” and that the brand will continue to grow rapidly.
Metevier said that as CEO he would “be laser-focused on strategies that strengthen the brand and allow us to ascend to new and yet-to-be-reached heights, including enhanced support tools for our expanding network of franchisees, reinforcing community-first cultures centered around pizza, and introducing more guests to our signature Mountain Mike’s Pizza experience by thoughtfully adding new restaurants.”
Prior to joining Mountain Mike’s, Metevier served as president of Biscuitville in 2015 and 2016, and worked at Yum Brands in a number of roles, including a stint as chief operating officer, according to Mountain Mike’s FDD. The FDD, which was published in 2023, listed Britt and St. Geme as co-CEOs.
