Top That! Pizza announced the groundbreaking of its first franchised location at 2435 West Kenosha Street, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The new store will be operated by franchisees Russell Leonard and Teresa Starling and is slated to open in mid-June.
“We had been looking for a restaurant franchise for a year and a half,” Starling says. “After we reviewed Top That! Pizza’s franchise program we knew right away that it was the one we wanted.”
The location, on the southwest corner of Aspen and Kenosha, is the former site of Eclipse Salon and Day Spa. “We chose this spot because it’s on the corner of the strip center,” Leonard says. “It’s easy to find and hard to miss.”
The couple also has plans to open additional locations in Broken Arrow later this year.
This store will be the first franchise unit developed by Top That! Pizza’s development agents, Pat and Deborah Calhoun. The Calhouns are responsible for the concept’s expansion strategy in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and North Texas.
Top That! Pizza, developed and owned by Jeff and Lori Walderich, is the world’s first and only restaurant that specializes in custom, personal-sized pizzas. The concept lets guests oversee the creation of their preferred pizza in much the same way as they might in a sub sandwich shop, choosing from a wide selection of crusts, sauces, vegetables, meats, and cheeses. They are then presented with their pizzas in less than three minutes after they are ordered.
“The wow factor isn’t just that customers have so many topping choices or fast service,” Lori Walderich says. “It’s the fact that they pay a flat price no matter what or how much they put on their pizzas. That’s truly what sets us apart.”
The corporate location, at 83rd and Memorial has grown steadily since it opened last October. “We are surpassing our projections,” Jeff Walderich says. “In no way did we anticipate this level of customer enthusiasm and franchising interest after just seven months of being in existence.That goes to show that people like our new twist on pizza, and prospective franchisees are clamoring to be first in their markets.”
The company is currently negotiating several local, regional, and international franchise agreements.
