Blackjack Pizza facts for kids
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| Industry | Restaurants Franchising |
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| Founded | June 29, 1983 |
| Headquarters | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S. |
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Key people
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Vince Schmuhl, Founder & President |
| Products | Pizza |
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Number of employees
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800 (estimated) |
Blackjack Pizza is a popular pizza delivery company that started in Colorado. It was founded in 1983 by Vince Schmuhl. He used to work for another big pizza company, Domino's Pizza. Vince wanted to give people in the Rocky Mountains a different choice for pizza delivery. Blackjack Pizza is now the biggest pizza chain in Colorado. It has about 800 employees. In 2013, a company called Askar Brands bought Blackjack Pizza.
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The Story of Blackjack Pizza
Vince Schmuhl was a college student at the University of Northern Colorado. He delivered pizzas for Domino's Pizza. After he finished college in 1981, he wanted to start his own business. He saw that there weren't many choices for pizza delivery.
Vince's parents, Jim and Wilma Schmuhl, helped him. They gave him $10,000 to start his pizza company. In return, they became part owners. Vince named his restaurant "Blackjack Pizza." He chose this name because "blackjack" is a fast card game. He wanted to show that his pizza was delivered quickly. Also, "blackjack" and "dominoes" are both games. This showed that Blackjack Pizza was a new option instead of Domino's. Their first slogan was "Finally, there's a new game in town."
Opening the First Stores
The very first Blackjack Pizza store opened on June 29, 1983. It was in Federal Heights, Colorado. By February 1984, a second store opened in Greeley. The company grew quickly. By 1986, Blackjack Pizza had six of its own stores. It also had one store run by another owner, called a franchisee.
The company's main office was first in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Later, this area became part of Centennial in 2001.
Growing Across States
In 1988, Blackjack Pizza started letting other people open stores using their name. This is called franchising. By 2018, Blackjack Pizza had 45 stores. These stores were located in five different states. Blackjack's current slogan is "Better Pizza, Better Price."
Denver Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith used to be in Blackjack Pizza commercials. He was in them until October 2008. His slogan for the ads was "Stick with the home team." After that, new ads featured actors from a show called Impulse Theater.
Helping the Community
Blackjack Pizza has given money to many good causes. In 2005, they donated $8,842.40 to the Bonfils Blood Center Foundation. This was part of their "80 Cent Pizza Promotion." They also supported a program for young farmers. This program was for the Future Farmers of America in Fort Morgan.
In 2006, Blackjack Pizza had a special deal. When customers ordered the "Children's Hospital Special," the company gave one dollar to the Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colorado.
New Ownership
On January 1, 2013, Blackjack Pizza was bought by another company. This company is called Askar Brands. Askar Brands is based in Michigan.
See also
- List of food companies
- List of pizza chains of the United States
