MOD Pizza announced that it has successfully raised over $15 million from private investors to support an accelerated expansion of the brand. In addition, the company announced that it will be opening stores in three new markets this summer—the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Houston—along with adding new locations in Seattle and Los Angeles. MOD plans to open seven new stores by the end of August, bringing the total number of MOD locations to 23. The company has a pipeline of additional openings planned for this fall, and specific details on the fall openings will be shared later this year.
Various locations are slated for opening by the end of August 2014, including San Jose, California; North Hollywood, California; and Maple Valley, Washington.
“As we begin to introduce the MOD brand to new markets across the U.S., we feel it is important to build a significant base of company-owned stores,” says Scott Svenson, cofounder and CEO. “We are a culture driven business, and opening a significant number of company stores is the best way for us to refine the process for extending the MOD culture into new markets. We are thrilled to have attracted the capital required to accelerate our growth and build the foundations for our expansion across the U.S.”
The current funding was provided by existing shareholders and a group of value-add private investors. The total capital raised to date by MOD exceeds $26 million.
“The team has invested over five years preparing to turn MOD into a national brand. Building a people-centered culture that will differentiate the MOD experience, while introducing the habits of operational excellence and putting in place a best-in-class team of executives, advisors and shareholders takes time,” says Jim Alling, MOD shareholder and board member, former president of Starbucks, and current COO of T-Mobile. “It has been a pleasure to watch the MOD team as they have systematically prepared MOD for the exciting period of growth that lies ahead.”
“The experience people have come to expect when they step into a MOD is what will set us apart as we grow,” says Scott Svenson. “MOD is about so much more than just great pizza. We look forward to making our own unique mark on the fast casual sector as we expand across the country.”
