Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperoni, Mountain-sized pizzas, fresh cut toppings covered from edge-to-edge, and dough made fresh daily for over 40 years, is proud to announce the signing of an exciting development deal that is expected to bring 30 Mountain Mike’s restaurants to Utah over the next decade.
The new development partnership is with Pelican Food Concepts, LLC, who will have exclusive development rights to the state. Pelican Food executive Mike Smith, former BYU basketball great and NBA alum, is helping to spearhead the chain’s growth throughout Utah, which was inaugurated earlier this month with the acquisition of the one existing Mountain Mike’s Pizza location in the state, which opened in South Jordan in 2006.
The group is also in discussions on a handful of other prospective locations in the greater Salt Lake City area. This big news closely follows the announcement that 2020 was Mountain Mike’s best year ever, with record same store sales growth and total system sales surpassing $200 million.
“The Mountain Mike’s team has been quietly building the best pizza franchise concept in the country and we’re thrilled to bring our premium pies and unique dining experience ideal for families, sports fans, celebrations, fundraisers and team gatherings alike, to Utah residents,” said Donte’ Andry, CEO and principal owner of Pelican Food Concepts.
Smith, a longtime dedicated member of the Salt Lake City community and studio broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz, added, “With my wife and I having ten kids of our own, we know the importance of having a pizzeria restaurant like Mountain Mike’s within our communities, and we’re confident that our fellow Utahns will enjoy having a new family-friendly pizza spot in their neighborhoods. We’re currently seeking passionate franchise partners who are excited to grow with our thriving, family-forward brand.”
The pizza segment is booming, and the demand has never been higher for Mountain Mike’s mouthwatering pizzas made with high quality ingredients like real whole milk mozzarella cheese. Recent reports named Mountain Mike’s an emerging leader in the pizza space, one of the hottest franchise categories of 2021, and even called the pizza segment both recession-and pandemic-proof, a statement in many ways validated by Mountain Mike’s incredibly strong performance in 2020.
As an area developer partner, Pelican Food Concepts plans to own and operate many of its own Mountain Mike’s Pizza locations and build a team of talented franchise partners to open other locations throughout Utah, a state that has been identified as a prime market for a family friendly pizza concept like Mountain Mike’s.
“What Mountain Mike’s has to offer our franchisee partners is difficult to find; over 40 years of growth and successful operation, a large and growing food segment in pizza, strong brand momentum, and an attractive franchisee-centric business model. This makes us a smart choice for entrepreneurs and multi-brand operators looking to grow their portfolios with an established brand in the high-performing pizza category,” said Chris Britt, principal owner and co-CEO of Mountain Mike’s.
“Mountain Mike’s is in an exhilarating time of growth, and we’re proud to partner with groups like Pelican Food Concepts to introduce the brand to new pizza fans throughout the western region,” added Ed St. Geme, also principal owner and co-CEO of the brand. “This is only the beginning of our expansion plans, stay tuned for more exciting development news coming soon!”