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Pizza Patrón growth ready to 'hit the gas'

Pizza Patrón founder Antonio Swad, developer of Wingstop, commented on the success of Wingstop's IPO and how he hopes to apply what he's learned to Pizza Patrón.

June 18, 2015

Just after Pizza Patrón introduced two new tastes to its existing wing lineup — BBQ and Naked Pizza —  founder Antonio Swad, also the developer of Wingstop, commented on the success of Wingstop's IPO.

"I was thrilled to see how well the Wingstop IPO went. For me it was just one more validation that it is arguably one of the greatest restaurant concepts ever, by any measure," Swad said in a statement. "When I sold the company, it was already around 100 units open with a bunch under construction. It was a fully developed brand with great food and a silky smooth operating system —  still is. I can see many parallels between where we were with Wingstop then and where we are with Pizza Patrón now. Both brands are unique, and both still have a ton of headroom to grow."

Swad, who spent years working in both concepts wearing the many hats of founder, CEO, general contractor, fry cook and customer service specialist, admits that hands-on operation is important to him when it comes to the operation of his restaurants. He often pops in unannounced to check the quality of the product and service on any given day, the release said.

"We have spent the last year and a half getting all of our planets aligned. Pizza Patrón has never been healthier and our team is the best I've ever worked with. We are ready to really hit the gas with respect to growth. Our best days are ahead and you will be hearing more about that very soon," said Swad.

Swad expressed hopes to expand but wants to take his time in choosing franchise partners who understand the personal commitment the restaurant industry takes. Pizza Patrón, he said, can readily sustain 1000+ units in U.S. as well as opportunities beyond the U.S. The chain, which recently celebrated it's largest weekly sales record in its 29 years, will announce its new franchise growth strategy in the summer of 2015, according to the press release.

The original Pizza Patron location set an all-time record high in weekly sales this month, the company said. The store hit the highest number of weekly transactions in its history, as well as its highest unit sales for the entire system during the week of June 1. The store's 2015 same-store comparable sales are up more than 10 percent from last year, with May transactions up 11.8 percent.

"This store has been around for almost 30 years. Children who grew up eating this pizza now have families of their own in the same neighborhood," said Swad. "Our mission statement of 'Service to community. Commitment to value.' is practiced every day here by great managers and a solid crew. I'm not sure where the top is on this one, but it sure is fun looking for it."

Swad attributed the new record to school pizza party sales, a large contributer in meeting the milestone. The record week outsold Super Bowl sales by 28 percent.

"This amazing record week is evidence that Pizza Patrón is more relevant today than ever before. We are working hard to deliver on our promise of 'Mas Pizza. Menos Dinero' and these sale increases tell me that we are on the right track," said Swad.