Pizza Patrón
| File:PizzaPatron.svg | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Antonio Swad |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
| Products | Pizza, Buffalo Wings |
| Website | www.pizzapatron.com |
Pizza Patrón is a United States pizza chain headquartered in Suite 200 at 10999 Petal Street, Dallas, Texas.[1]
Pizza Patrón operates locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas. The chain opens locations in mainly Hispanic neighborhoods, catering primarily to the Hispanic market. In addition to the franchise's 81 locations across the southwest, 40 more are currently under development. The franchise's logo features a mestizo man's face in a fedora hat (earlier logos did not include a face). The chain's slogan is Más Pizza. Menos Dinero. (Spanish for "More Pizza. Less Money.")
Pizza Patrón was founded in 1986 by Antonio Swad, of Lebanese and Italian descent. Swad is also known for founding the line of Wingstop buffalo wing restaurants, which he sold in 2003 to focus on developing Pizza Patrón as an international brand. He currently acts as the president of Pizza Patrón; the Director of Brand Development is Andrew Gamm and the Director of Operations is Ernesto Hernandez.
In 2006 Pizza Patrón successfully introduced new products like Patrón Dippers and Fiesta Wings, and established its "Lista" (ready now) pizza program nationally. In addition, Pizza Patrón developed a dine-in store model, the Pizza Patrón Rapidito (airports/malls) model, the "Tiendita" (portable mini-store extension) and its "Lista" drive-through concept. These progressive additions to the concept were largely responsible for the 34.55% increase in business that Pizza Patrón experienced in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2006.[2]
Pizza for Pesos
In January 2007, Pizza Patrón announced its new "Pizza por Pesos" policy which enabled the chain's customers to pay for pizzas with Mexican pesos for a limited time. Though the company was not the first to implement such a policy in the United States, the move came at a time of increasingly heated debate over illegal immigration in the United States and caused the chain's Dallas headquarters to receive complaints and death threats.[3] It also created publicity for the chain, garnering media attention from several outlets (including Fox News and The Colbert Report). After the first week of the promotion, one owner reported that he took in about 15,000 pesos (close to $1,400) at his two southern California branches, accounting for roughly 20% of his profits.[4]
On May 3, 2007, the company reported that sales in the first three months of 2007 were up 35% compared to sales during the first three months of 2006. The company attributed the strong growth in sales to publicity generated by news reports about the "Pizza for Pesos" campaign and said that its policy of accepting pesos, originally scheduled to last only until the end of April, was being made permanent.[5]
Notes
- ^ "Pizza Patrón Locations: Dallas." Pizza Patrón. Retrieved on November 24, 2008.
- ^ "Pizza Patron Sees Staggering Fourth Quarter Sales". Pizza Patrón (Press release). 2007-01-22. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/11/pizza.pesos.ap/index.html
- ^ The Daily Breeze - HOME
- ^ Pesos Pay Off for Pizza Patrón
