Pieology Pizzeria, where pizza lovers go to create artisan style custom pizzas in endless flavor combinations at one affordable price, has announced Randy Carucci as its new vice president of real estate. Carucci joins the Pieology team with more than 35 years of experience in his field with a specialized focus in franchised restaurant concepts, working with leading national brands including The Counter, Panera Bread, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, Jamba Juice, Cinnabon, and Sunglass Hut.
“Randy’s exceptional real estate background and his decades in restaurant development make him an ideal addition to our leadership team,” says Carl Chang, Pieology founder and CEO. “We take great responsibility in setting our franchise partners up to succeed, and we’re committed to spending the time necessary to secure high quality real estate, which will help fuel the success of our franchisees for the long haul. Randy’s skillset will be valuable in upholding our strict standards.”
At Pieology, Carucci’s responsibilities cover all aspects of real estate development including letter of intent and lease negotiations, trade area analysis, market prioritization, and directing strategic site selection efforts that will enable new and existing franchisees to achieve sustainable growth. Among Carucci’s most notable accomplishments was directing the strategic growth and site selection for Baja Fresh Mexican Grill to support its nationwide growth, resulting in more than 200 new sites for the brand within three years.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work for a number of prominent restaurant brands throughout my career and Pieology is no exception,” Carucci says. “I am thoroughly impressed with the successful model that Carl Chang and his leadership team have designed for Pieology and, after doing my homework on the fast-casual custom pizza segment, it’s clear to me that I’ve joined the category leader.”
Pieology Pizzeria is steadily expanding its U.S. footprint and is on schedule to have more than 80 restaurants open by the end of 2015, with commitments for over 600 to be in various stages of development.
