Mountain Mike’s Pizza, LLC, a leading family-style pizza chain for more than 40 years, reported Q1 same store sales (SSS) increased 7% while total system sales (TSS) were 14.4% higher than Q1 2021. First quarter AUVs for the brand were $1.1 million systemwide with the top 25% of locations averaging $1.62 million in sales and the top 50% nearly $1.4 million. Following an incredible 2021 where the brand surpassed $250 million in total system sales, Mountain Mike’s Pizza shows no signs of slowing down.
“Mountain Mike’s Pizza once again is off to a strong start in 2022. Our passionate and talented franchisees continue to show why they are arguably the top performers in the entire franchised pizza segment. AUVs systemwide have now grown nearly 40% over the past 4 years which for a 44-year-old brand is quite an achievement,” says Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme, Co-CEOs/Owners of Mountain Mike’s Pizza. “As we accelerate our efforts to grow Mountain Mike’s Pizza throughout the Western U.S., not only are we seeing terrific interest among existing franchisees to expand beyond their existing trade areas, but we are also seeing a dramatic increase in interest among new multi-unit franchise candidates to spearhead the opening of new states. We now have new franchise commitments for more than 60 new locations, a 24% increase over our current restaurant footprint.”
Mountain Mike’s Pizza is currently opening new restaurants in eight western states in 2022, with many more states on the horizon in the near future. The brand opened five new restaurants in Q1, including its first Idaho location, and also its first two locations in Arizona. In the second half of 2022, the company expects to open its inaugural locations in Colorado and Texas, along with additional units in Utah, Oregon, Nevada and California. The 255-unit pizza chain also signed franchise commitments in the first quarter of 2022 for 11 new locations. By the end of 2022, the brand expects to open a total of 30 new restaurants, as it continues its ascent towards its mid-term goal of 400+ locations by the end of 2025.
With a long history of catering to sports fans of all ages – whether viewing games on the many big-screen televisions throughout each restaurant or enjoying pizza and rooting for teams from home or the workplace – sports, community and pizza continued to be winning themes for the brand in Q1. In March, Mountain Mike’s proudly announced its latest professional sports partnership as it became an Official Pizza Partner of Angels Baseball. The partnership with Angels baseball exemplifies Mountain Mike’s longstanding commitment to families, sports fans and communities throughout California and the Western U.S. Since establishing its expanded Franchise Support Center in Newport Beach in 2017, Southern California has become the brand’s fastest growing region, making the partnership with the iconic Orange County-based ballclub a natural fit.
A significant contributor to Mountain Mike’s strong Q1 was its continued growth across the brand’s digital presence. Even with dine-in sales tripling as a percent of total sales in Q1 2022 over Q1 2021, the company’s digital sales still grew 14% in Q1 reaching 42% of systemwide sales. Digital sales in Q1 were bolstered by an array of digital initiatives, including the growing popularity of the Mountain Rewards™ mobile app, which saw its user base increase more than 13% in Q1 over the previous period. Q1 digital activations also included an exciting “Pi Day” promotion on March 14, which resulted in single-day mobile app growth of 140% and an impressive 14% uptick in SSS. Rounding out a quarter replete with successful, value-added promotions, Q1 also saw the annual return of Mountain Mike’s beloved Heart Shaped Pizzas in February, which generated more than a billion impressions for the brand.
“On the heels of opening our 250th store earlier this year, it’s more apparent than ever that everyone associated with Mountain Mike’s Pizza is hungry for more, and we are thrilled to see increasing interest from potential franchise partners who see extraordinary promise in our brand,” says Jim Metevier, President and COO of Mountain Mike’s Pizza. “Of course, in every new market we enter, we also continue to discover scores of valued and enthusiastic guests who are welcoming us warmly and serving as our brand evangelists – passionately bringing Mountain Mike’s to the forefront of America’s love affair with ‘Pizza the Way it Oughta Be!.’”
