Marco’s Pizza announced plans to open 42 locations in Georgia. Marco’s is growing steadily and recently celebrated the opening of its 200th store. More than one quarter of Marco’s stores have opened in the past two years.

Marco’s Pizza area representative YaFei Zheng signed on to develop 42 stores in Metro Atlanta and Southern and Eastern Georgia. Already, three locations have opened in Dunwoody (4511 Chamblee Dunwoody Road), McDonough (298 Race Track Road), and Suwanee (291 Old Peachtree Road, Ste. C). Zheng, a resident of Atlanta, is planning to launch 10 more stores before the end of the year.

“I am excited about the future of Marco’s Pizza in Georgia,” Zheng says. “We look forward to introducing customers to Marco’s authentic Italian pizza and becoming involved in the communities around our stores.”

Marco’s Pizza stores employ 20 to 25 local residents each, so the expansion will bring a significant number of job opportunities to the region.

“Marco’s Pizza started out as a regional Midwestern company, so our expansion in Georgia and the opening of our 200th store are significant milestones as we work toward nationwide expansion,” says Jack Butorac, Marco’s president and CEO. “In last year’s challenging economic environment, Marco’s opened more than 30 stores—including our first international location in the Bahamas—and broke new store opening sales records. We look forward to more growth milestones in 2010.”