Russo’s New York Pizzeria expands Middle Eastern presence with several new restaurant openings

Russo’s New York Pizzeria, the New York-style pizza franchise with stores throughout the U.S. and the UAE, has announced that its international franchise partner, Prime Hospitality, has opened its eighth location in the UAE. The new site is located in Nakheel Mall, Dubai.

Prime Hospitality will also open two new locations in Riyadh, and plans to open eight more Russo’s restaurants throughout 2021.

“Our home delivery sales have exceeded our expectations and we continue to plan on developing 10 plus stores throughout the UAE market,” said chef Russo. “During an unforeseen drop in sales and openings in the restaurant industry due to COVID-19, we were quickly able to pivot and not only survive through this pandemic, but our brand is thriving with sales up comparatively versus last year.”

These new locations will feature a smaller physical footprint, ranging from 1,200 to 1,700 square feet, with a new design that suits a delivery-focused storefront. Each location will also partner with third-party aggregators to add virtual storefronts to the Russo’s repertoire.

As well as the international sites, Russo’s is opening four domestic U.S. locations in Houston and Spring, Texas, and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. All of these developments position 2021 as a key growth year for the Russo’s brand.