After the brand’s first full year of franchising and a strong finish in 2024, Cannoli Kitchen Pizza is poised for even more growth in 2025. The steadily rising pizzeria brand announced its vision to open new restaurants, sell new franchisee licenses and streamline catering and online ordering. The brand has also hired a new executive to manage training and support, part of a leadership expansion to better serve local teams.
“We realized our 2024 growth plans with new franchise deals in four states, and we’re going even bigger in 2025,” said Austin Titus, president of Cannoli Kitchen Pizza. “We’ll be working hard this year to turn these deals into new locations, reaching into new markets where more people can discover the fresh taste of our authentic Italian cuisine.”
Growth was the mindset in 2024 for Cannoli Kitchen Pizza, which sealed eight new franchise agreements: five in Florida (Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando) and three in Alabama, Michigan and Georgia. At the close of 2024, Cannoli Kitchen Pizza had 10 franchise agreements complete and in the pipeline for this year.
Expansion continues to be the overarching goal in 2025, with Florida, Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas the main focus areas. The brand plans to open 23 franchisee-owned restaurants by the end of year and add 50 franchise licenses, primarily focused in the south and southeast. The Cannoli Kitchen Pizza footprint will grow significantly in Florida, with new locations in Boca Raton (end of March), Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and the Orlando area.
Cannoli Kitchen Pizza also expects to have a new location in Marietta, Georgia, by summer. Dallas will have a new restaurant later this year, part of a plan for six developments in north Texas.
To handle the growth and set the new restaurants up for success, the brand’s leadership has beefed up its support team with marketing and operations advisors to guide franchisees. The changes include hiring Jenna Negrin as training and support manager. Negrin graduated from the Florida Culinary Institute in 2001 with a degree in food and beverage management and has been working in operations for over 20 years. She will provide comprehensive operational support and training, ensuring that all systems and processes are effectively in place, and will work closely with teams to assist in managing key platforms for inventory, staffing and scheduling to help the restaurants run smoothly and efficiently.
The brand is also improving its web and social media capabilities. The company has relaunched its website, and each restaurant location will have its own landing page where guests can order meals online or arrange catering.
Growth has been an essential ingredient in the success of Cannoli Kitchen Pizza, which originated as a single independent restaurant in Boca Raton in 1996. It grew to six locations and became a franchise concept in the fall of 2023. Today, the brand is part of United Franchise Group (UFG), the global leaders in franchising, and is among the concepts within UFG’s food division, Big Flavor Brands.
