Texas-based CiCi’s Pizza continues to find success as it expands into new franchise markets. The chain, which has more than 600 stores in 35 states, opened restaurants in two new states, Wisconsin and New York, in the past month and has plans to continue to build operations in new and under saturated markets.

“Using industry-best research practices, we’ve identified key markets across the country with the ideal demographic mix for CiCi’s,” says Jim Sheahan, vice president of franchise sales. “We’re actively recruiting high-quality franchisees in those markets with a combination of in-person expos and an innovative online portal.”

CiCi’s Pizza targeted several key areas for growth, including the East Coast, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. In July alone, CiCi’s signed deals for eight new restaurant openings in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. The chain will open seven new stores by the end of September and continues to conduct franchise Expos. Recent grand openings of New York’s first CiCi’s in DeWitt this month was the best in the company’s history, and sales have remained well above per-unit average.

“Our recent openings have been phenomenal,” Sheahan says. “Given that we’ve had two of our highest-volume openings ever this summer, we anticipate that our new restaurants will continue to see success. Our goal is to find top-notch franchisees across the United States to build even more momentum.”