FSR Magazine: Pizzeria Uno Heads Into 2023 on Heels of Record Year

Pizzeria Uno’s established reputation has helped franchisees thrive for decades in free-standing restaurants, with over 80 company-owned and franchised UNO Pizzeria & Grill locations around the world. But in 2022, the franchisor began leveraging its relationships and infrastructure to launch a new hotel-restaurant conversion strategy. By opening up restaurants in locations that are attached to hotels, both the hotel and restaurant benefit.

Because of business model updates like this, the brand saw a record year in 2022 after signing five new franchises in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Virginia. That’s more than the brand has signed since 2011.

“2022 has been a record year for growth for Pizzeria Uno, and we attribute much of our success to our franchise model,” says Erik Frederick, Pizzeria Uno CEO. “For one, we have a collaborative franchise environment and work together in many aspects of the business. Secondly, we focus on bringing in franchisees who are passionate about the brand. When you have that passion, that's going to carry over to the quality of your food and guest service. Maintaining that culture really is the secret sauce of our pizza and brand.”

The first of these five hotel conversions launched in Chicago in August. This location, which was previously an unbranded restaurant, marked the first time Pizzeria Uno expanded outside its original downtown location in Chicago, where the original – and its deep dish pizza – has been a staple for nearly 80 years. Looking ahead to 2023, the brand is planning to sign 10 to 15 new units, with even more to come in the years ahead.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation includes approximately 80 company-owned and franchised UNO Pizzeria & Grill restaurants located in 18 states, the District of Columbia, India and Saudi Arabia. UNO is all about connecting people over pizza – from its famous Chicago Deep Dish, which UNO invented in 1943, to its Chicago Thin Crust, to its gluten-free and vegan pizzas. The Company also operates Uno Foods, a consumer packaged-foods business that supplies supermarkets, airlines, movie theaters, hotels, airports, travel plazas, and schools, with both frozen and refrigerated private-label foods and UNO branded products.