Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, announces a 5-unit signed agreement that will bring stores to the South Florida market, specifically throughout the tri-county region. The first two stores will open in the greater Fort Lauderdale area this summer at 811 East Commercial Blvd. and 811 North Nob Hill Rd., with all remaining stores set to open by Q2 2024.
Behind this multi-unit agreement is Rodrigo Azpurua and his son Enrique Azpurua. Originally from Venezuela, the Azpurua family moved to the United States in 2001 to pursue the American Dream. Rodrigo has a background in real estate development, growing a robust portfolio of office buildings and hotels. After finding success in the hospitality and lodging industry, he was ready for a new challenge – food & beverage.
Timing aligned with Enrique’s graduation from Florida International University with a degree in hospitality in 2021. The father-son team decided to embark on a new entrepreneurial journey together. Being consumers of Marco’s Pizza and loving the product for years, they decided to explore the franchise opportunity. Impressed not only with the quality product, but brand values, sound operating systems, and more – they were confident Marco’s Pizza was the right opportunity for them to build a family legacy.
“This is a dream of building a family legacy in this great country,” says Rodrigo Azpurua. “Not only do we have the opportunity to grow a family business, but we’ve found the ultimate brand partner to do so with. Marco’s has the perfect recipe of a quality product, a proven business model, impressive statewide brand awareness, and an opportunity to grow a robust portfolio.”
“As an immigrant entrepreneur, my dad has instilled in me the value of hard work from a very young age,” says Enrique Azpurua. “It’s a privilege to operate as family business, and rest assured, we’ll be working hard. We look forward to becoming part of the community, creating job opportunities, and career pathways. We’re on the fast track to get these five stores up and running to serve our local residents.”
While Marco’s boasts more than 130 locations across the state, the South Florida region holds vast opportunity for expansion. This multi-unit announcement adds to Marco’s aggressive domestic growth with more than 200 stores in various stages of development, and hundreds of agreements signed. In the last six years, the fast-growing brand has doubled its store footprint with no intention of slowing down. Company leadership has identified 4,200 potential U.S. locations.
Alongside impressive expansion, Marco’s is prioritizing investments in enhancing the franchise development program, new technology, personnel, strategic vendor partnerships, multi-channel national advertising, and more – all with an eye on maximizing franchisee profits while meeting the needs of today’s modern customer.
According to the brand’s Franchise Disclosure Document, the Top 50% of Marco’s franchised stores generated $1,222,684 for 2022.
Marco’s remains on the fast-track for growth, now boasting more than 1,100 stores while achieving strong performance – surpassing $1B in annual systemwide sales in Q3 2022. Marco’s provides a development support system, including technology and tools to help identify the right territories for expansion plus information in areas such as financing, real estate, construction management, and field operations, to assist franchisees and multi-unit operators.
