Hungry Howie’s Open First Michigan Franchise in 10 Years

According to a story in QSR Magazine, locally-beloved Midwestern pizza franchise Hungry Howie's is reigniting growth in its home state of Michigan after about 10 years off. QSR reported that the brand initially halted expansion both due to the Great Recession and to focus on expansion in other states, but recent analysis and fresh data has confirmed that Michigan is prime for even more locations of the local favorite.

The reason why Michigan seems ready for more Hungry Howie's seems obvious—the customer base is already there. “… We started utilizing (the analytics module) outside the state of Michigan probably about a year ago and just started to re-input it in Michigan and realized, ‘Oh my gosh, we can do so much more here,’” Vice President of Development for Hungry Howie's Jennifer Jackson told QSR. “Because we have the data now from our actual customer base, we were able to go in and pinpoint that per household. So, we’re super excited.”

Jackson estimates that the Michigan market could support as many as 35 more units, but the brand is also looking to bring its signature flavored pizza crusts to other states. For smaller, regional QSRs in particular, growth within familiar markets where a franchise already has an established brand presence can be an oft overlooked opportunity for franchisors.