Who's our No. 1? - Networld Media Group

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Genghis Grill
leapfrogpos.com
Extreme Pizza
San Francisco
With signature pizzas such as Adrenaline
Rush, Everest and the Boar'der, there’s
nothing average about Extreme Pizza,
which is expanding internationally. One
new franchisee is kite surfer Philip Martin,
who has brought the laid-back, West Coast
vibe of Extreme Pizza to Dublin, Ireland.
The 75-person-capacity restaurant reveals
Extreme Pizza's link with extreme sports.
Walls are covered with huge action shots
of surfers, kite surfers and snowboarders.
As with other Extreme Pizza locations,
Martin plans to support the local economy
by sourcing meat and vegetables from local
suppliers. The concept has earned a
mantle-full of awards, including the No. 2
best place to work in San Francisco by the
SF Business Times, the Best New Pizza
Franchise by Seattle Magazine, Best Pizza
by Sign On/City Search San Diego and the
Long Beach Press, Best Pizza in San Francisco
by CitySearch and more.
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Pizza Luce
Minneapolis
Pizza Luce, with six locations in Minnesota,
was named Restaurant of the Year in 2011
by the Minnesota Restaurant Association.
Known for its diverse menu, Pizza Luce
offers a variety of vegetarian, vegan and
gluten-free foods. The company’s delivery
sales increased significantly since implementing
online ordering in May 2010. By
March 2011, 21 percent of the pizza company’s
deliveries were made through online
orders. COO Laura Hansen added more
details to the online menus, creating more
vegetarian and vegan items so that customers
could actually order them with ease.
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Hunt Brothers
Nashville, Tenn.
Located primarily in convenience stores, the
company operates more than 6,500 locations
in 28 states. Along with pizza, the company’s
menu features breakfast pizza, wings, and
the recently introduced boneless WingBites.
Although a convenience store might not be
the top of mind when it comes to picking up a
favorite slice, the idea is paying off for C-store
owners. According to Technomic, pizza is one
of the top five food items sold at convenience
stores. And keeping true to its Nashville roots,
Hunt Brothers has promotional partnerships
with organizations ranging from Universal
Music Group Nashville to NASCAR.
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Figaro’s Italian Pizza,
Inc. & Nick-N-Willy’s
Salem, Ore., and Boulder, Colo.
In what seems to be a take-and-bake marriage
made in heaven, Figaro’s Italian Pizza
Inc. recently acquired Nick-N-Willy’s. Both
brands have much in common, including
offering unique take-and-baked offerings.
Nick-N-Willy's has won more than 10 "Best
of Boulder" awards in its hometown with
signature favorites including its top seller
– the Aegean, a vegetarian delight – and
other health-conscious options such as
gluten-free crust. Figaro’s recently rolled
out a new store design and branding.
58 Shakey’s
Sacramento, Calif.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor was established
in 1954 in Sacramento, Calif. Sherwood
“Shakey” Johnson had an idea to combine
ragtime music with Dixieland jazz. His company
quickly expanded and Shakey’s was
deemed as the “World’s Greatest Pizza.”
The most recent Shakey’s opened in Ameri-
can Fork, Utah. The brand features an all
day buffet with pizza, pastas and salads, as
well as big screen TVs, a game room, a classic
American music room and a pop culture
memorabilia room. Joe Remsa, president
and CEO of Shakey’s Pizza Parlor said, “The
brand’s expansion into the Southwest is a
further sign of Shakey’s expanding renaissance
and successful transformation from
a merely nostalgic brand to a relevant restaurant
chain experiencing exponential
growth.”
59 Squisitos
Annapolis, Md.
Maryland-based Squisito NY Pizza and Pasta
currently has eight restaurants located
throughout Maryland, with more on the way.
The name is derived from Italian for “exquisite.”
In addition to 15 varieties of gourmet
pizza, the restaurant’s menu features antipasti,
salads and a full line of Italian entreés.
The fast casual concept signed deals in the
past few months to open additional locations
in Maryland and other U.S. states, and is also
eyeing international expansion.
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Pizza Boli’s
Pikesville, Md.
More than 25 years ago, Javed Nasir
opened the first Pizza Boli's in the Mount
Washington neighborhood of Baltimore,
banking on a menu that featured more
variety. The chain, with about 70 units, features
a full range of pizzas, subs, salads,
sides and wings. The company has introduced
several new items in the past few
years, as well, such as the Greek Pizza, Pantastic
pizza and new crusts such as Healthy
Honey. Pizza Boli’s has also embraced text
message marketing, an iPhone app, online
ordering, social media promotions, cater-
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