Mici Handcrafted Italian, a family-founded, five-unit fast casual chain based out of Denver, Colorado, announced their first location in Colorado Springs, set to open in late February 2021. The location will be owned and operated by Mici corporate; Mici launched their National Franchise program earlier in 2020.
Mici’s new restaurant is located at 3703 Bloomington Street, Colorado Springs 80922, near the corner of Powers Boulevard and North Carefree Circle. The space was previously a Smashburger. Construction is set to begin after the 2020 holidays to bring Mici’s modern yet comfortable feel to the space.
The restaurant will have 46 seats and dedicated pickup and delivery stations, as well as offer delivery and catering. The delivery area is still be to be determined, but they are estimating that 45,000 households will be included in the zone.
On the decision to expand the corporate footprint to the Colorado Springs area, CEO Elliot Schiffer says, “Colorado Springs has always been at the top of our list of markets here in Colorado into which we would like to expand. It is a growing, thriving community and a perfect fit for both our food (family recipe pizza and pasta) and our style of service (fast casual with delivery). We would like to build up to five locations in Colorado Springs, over time, as the city continues to grow. And we could not be more excited to have a Colorado Springs native, Sarah Brodhead, who has worked for our company for eight years, moving home to open the restaurant as General Manager.”
Founded in 2004 by siblings Jeff, Kim and Michael Miceli, Mici brought on Partner and CEO Elliot Schiffer in 2017 to grow the brand in partnership with the Miceli family. The company has focused on streamlining operations and increasing efficiency across a number of areas in preparation for both corporate and franchise growth:
Expansion: In 2020, Mici launched their much-anticipated National Franchise Program. With family-recipe pastas, artisan pizzas, salads, and more—all of which are available for dine-in, carryout, catering and delivery—Mici is well suited to the national market, and several deals are in the works.
Invention: Mici this year received a full utility patent on Founder and President Jeff Miceli’s invention, the Mici-Z Pizza Press™, which he has been developing and perfecting for the last decade. The Mici-Z Pizza Press™ allows Mici locations to make consistently perfect crust with minimal training, ensuring that the quality customers expect will be constant across the country
Optimization: One of Mici’s main priorities of the last 18 months has been optimizing all of Mici’s digital platforms, including their online ordering and mobile platforms, point of sale, third party integrations, and a completely revamped Loyalty Program—all of which are now updated and ready for franchise growth. This effort was particularly well-timed due to the global pandemic—it allowed the company to not only survive the crisis, but has lead to an increase in sales.
Resilience: As with most businesses, 2020 has been primarily about the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the restaurant industry particularly hard. With strong leadership, Mici was able to shepherd the business through these trying times. Sales grew 10% during the COVID crisis, further solidifying the brand’s position as essential to each community in which it resides. Mici was also able to retain all employees from their Downtown location despite having to close its doors after 16 years–part of the overall strategy but accelerated due the hard-hit downtown businesses have taken during the pandemic. Seeing that talent currently available, Mici was also able to hire rapidly in 2020 to support future growth.
