Pizza Factory facts for kids
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Pizza Factory in Groveland, California
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| Industry | Restaurants |
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| Founded | 1979 in Oakhurst, California, US (as Danny's Red Devil Pizza) |
| Founder | Danny Wheeler Carol Wheeler |
| Headquarters |
Oakhurst, California
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United States
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Number of locations
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110 (2017) |
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Areas served
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Western United States |
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Key people
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Mary Jane Riva (president and chief executive officer) |
| Products | Pizzas and other food |
| Revenue | $60.3 million (2015) |
| Owner | Mary Jane Riva |
Pizza Factory Inc. is a popular chain of pizza restaurants. It started in 1979 in Oakhurst, California, in the western United States. The company began when Danny Wheeler and his wife Carol opened a place called Danny's Red Devil Pizza. Later, Ron Willey and his wife Joyce opened a second restaurant in 1981, which they named Pizza Factory.
In 1986, the Wheelers and Willeys started letting other people open Pizza Factory restaurants. This is called franchising. By the year 2000, Pizza Factory had grown across the western U.S. In 2012, a person named Mary Jane Riva, who had owned Pizza Factory restaurants for a long time, bought the company. She became its new leader. By 2016, Pizza Factory had 115 locations in six different states.
Contents
The Story of Pizza Factory
How It All Began
In 1979, Danny Wheeler and his wife Carol bought a pizza restaurant for $5,000. They named it Danny's Red Devil Pizza. It was located in Oakhurst, California, close to Yosemite National Park. Ron Willey and his wife Joyce often ate there. In 1981, the Willeys opened their own pizza place in Mariposa, California, and called it Pizza Factory.
By 1982, friends of the Wheelers and Willeys wanted to open their own Pizza Factory restaurants. The couples allowed them to use the name for a fee. They also helped set up these new restaurants in small towns across the San Joaquin Valley. Carol Wheeler and Joyce Willey wanted to make sure the food always tasted the same. They convinced their husbands to start franchising the company in 1986.
The owners decided to open their restaurants in small towns with fewer than 15,000 people. They believed it would be hard to compete with bigger pizza companies in large cities. Each Pizza Factory restaurant was designed so customers could watch their food being made. Owners were encouraged to decorate their restaurants with local pictures and to help out in their communities. They often supported local sports teams. Joyce Willey once said that their focus on local communities was "a throwback to when neighbors knew one another."
Growing Across the West
By 1988, Pizza Factory had 36 franchise restaurants. These were in California, Arizona, Idaho, and Oregon. The company aimed to add about 20 to 25 new restaurants each year. This was to make sure the original owners could still keep an eye on everything. Their big goal was to have 200 locations by 1992.
Even though many locations had little competition, the owners said this wasn't the only reason for their success. They set up training schools to teach new owners how to run a Pizza Factory. The company also held yearly meetings and smaller regional meetings. Every three months, a field director would check each restaurant. They made sure it was clean, looked the same as others, and that the food was prepared consistently.
By May 1989, the company had grown to 45 restaurants. These were in small towns across six states: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Pizza Factory also started its first advertisements on TV, radio, and billboards. Instead of expanding to more states, the company decided to focus on opening more restaurants in the states where they already were.
New Leadership and Modern Changes
In September 2012, the original owners, Wheeler and Willey, sold the company. Mary Jane Riva, who had owned Pizza Factory restaurants since 1989, bought it. She became the new president and chief executive officer. At that time, Pizza Factory had 111 restaurants in five western U.S. states. Before buying the company, Riva had helped expand Pizza Factory's presence in southern California.
In January 2013, Mary Jane Riva planned to make the restaurants more popular. She wanted to do this through TV commercials and mail ads. She also planned to open 15 to 20 new stores in the western United States by the end of 2013. Some of these new locations would be in bigger cities.
Riva also started an anti-bullying program called "No Bully Zone" at each restaurant. She had started this program at her own Pizza Factory restaurant in Temecula, California, in 2009. T-shirts were sold to support the program. The anti-bullying message was also shared through billboards and school videos.
In 2014, Pizza Factory started to get a new look. They introduced new plates, menus, and signs. Riva also brought back the idea of an open kitchen. This allowed customers to watch the cooks toss the pizza dough. The company's slogan became, "We Toss 'Em, They're Awesome!" By the end of 2014, Pizza Factory planned to expand into Montana and Canada. In 2015, the company's earnings were $60.3 million.
By August 2016, Pizza Factory had 115 locations in six states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Riva hoped to double the number of locations in the next five years. She noted that some of the company's most successful restaurants were still in small towns. As of August 2016, Pizza Factory was the 41st largest pizza chain in the United States.
In 2017, Pizza Factory announced plans to open new locations in Montana. These plans were part of a strategy to grow the company in small towns. They aimed for new restaurants in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming. Riva explained that while they don't avoid big cities, most of their restaurants are in places with fewer than 25,000 people.
In August 2017, Pizza Factory teamed up with the San Jose Sharks. This is a professional ice hockey team. Pizza Factory became the only pizza provider at events at San Jose's SAP Center. This partnership also helped raise awareness for the "No Bully Zone" program. As of October 2017, the company had 110 restaurant locations.
What's on the Menu?
Pizza Factory offers more than just pizza. They also serve calzones, sandwiches, soups, and appetizers. Popular appetizers include chicken wings and "Breadstix." All pizzas are made with fresh dough that is tossed by hand every day. Pizza sizes range from 8 to 16 inches.
Some special pizzas include Fajita Chicken, Meat Lovers, Pesto & Garlic, and Western-Style BBQ Chicken. Some locations also have a pizza and salad buffet. In January 2015, a survey of 1,239 people ranked Pizza Factory as number nine on a list of "America's Favorite Pizza Chains."
