Cody Bashore | Arizona Daily Sun | September 17, 2024
With locations already across northern Arizona in Williams, Payson and Show Low, the California-based chain Pizza Factory plans to add a location in Flagstaff.
The chain began franchising in 1986 and has more than 110 locations across Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Texas and Washington. In February 2023, the company opened its first location in the Valley as it arrived in Mesa after the three other northern Arizona locations had been in business for more than a decade.
“Arizona, as far as a state, fits in really well with the communities,” Pizza Factory CEO Mary Jane Riva said of the company’s fit within the state. “Especially with the growth and continued growth in Arizona with families, communities and with how many people, especially in the last few years for sure, are moving there.”
For residents from the Valley who had traveled north to the trio of northern Arizona cities, Riva said it was a brand that was familiar, leading to the Mesa location. With Payson being one of the top performing locations within the chain in recent years, further expansion into Arizona was encouraged as the brand slowly moves east. Riva said the community feel is also a priority when expanding to new locations.
“There’s the community aspect that we go into that is more where it’s the new families, young families, they’re all in sports, the schools are there. That’s the sweet spot,” Riva said.
In order to better play a part in the communities where it operates, Pizza Factory also has a “No Bully Zone” program while parting with local schools to speak in the importance of kindness. Additionally, some locations in the company have partnered with GiftAMeal which allows customers to take a photo of their food and upload it to the app, with money then donated to local food banks.
“We’re coming up on a year and we’re getting close to 5,000 meals that we’ve donated in our communities,” Riva said. “All they have to do is take a picture and their local community is getting food. It’s a really great program. I try to get all restaurants to get in on it quite honestly because it’s just a no brainer.”
Riva, who began as a franchisee herself in 1990 before taking over as CEO in 2012, said Pizza Factory’s brand was founded on the ability to let people move away from larger city locations and potentially run their own franchise in a smaller community as opposed to commuting into a job. Riva added that 90% of the owners and operators of franchises live and work in the community as opposed to coming in from the outside.
Looking back to her time as a franchisee herself, Riva said she thought back to what she would have liked to see the company do in order to help its locations. Much of the focus during her time as CEO has focused on bringing the company forward in terms of technology while supporting franchisees in areas she would have liked to see in previous years.
The brand prides itself on never using anything frozen with all items being made on site. Dough is made at each location daily according to Riva, with the pizzas hand tossed as opposed to using rollers or machines.
“The quality of the product, I think, is what we’re definitely the most proud of,” Riva said. “Everything’s fresh. We chop our own vegetables, grate our own cheese that’s 100% mozzarella. It’s not a blend. Everything is really, really centered around that high quality and making sure it’s a premium product that we’re serving.”
According to Riva, Pizza Factory’s locations typically land somewhere between 2,200 and 3,000 square feet with a dining room and possibly party room. Smaller locations can end up around 1,800 to 2,000 square feet, but would include space for around 30 people as the kitchens take up about 1,000 square feet in the restaurants.