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Kono Pizza announces first Walmart location, signs 10-unit Texas deal

Kono Pizza plans to open new units in malls and department stores before the Black Friday rush.

October 2, 2015

 Kono Pizza announced it recently signed a deal to open 10 new locations in the greater Dallas area, as well as signing a lease for its first Walmart store location in Lancaster, South Carolina, which will be open by the holidays. The Walmart location will be a franchise unit owned and operated by Gayle and Carl Adams, and is scheduled to open before Black Friday, according to a company press release. Kono Pizza executives said additional locations will also be open within Walmart stores in 2016.

"The momentum we have built and continue to sustain has put us on track for a total of 50 locations in various stages of development in the pipeline by the end of the first fiscal quarter in 2016," Kono Pizza Co-founders David Ragosa and Carlo Ruggiero said. "We are thrilled to be growing at such a healthy pace, and look forward to sharing our fresh, innovative concept with more and more people for years to come."

The 10-unit deal in Texas was signed with franchisee Sadashiva Pai and will include a variety of formats including potential mall kiosks, event carts, in-line and storefront locations, the release stated. Pai's first location is scheduled to open in early 2016 inside a Dallas Walmart.

In addition, a new Kono Pizza kiosk unit will open in the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey, also set to open before Black Friday. It is the second of five locations in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area owned by multi-unit franchisee Eric Ciancaglini. His first unit, a mobile event cart in Philadelphia, opened earlier this year.

Kono Pizza is served in a cone, featuring a thin crust and low-moisture cheese and filled with ingredients. After opening their first traditional location in New Jersey in 2013 to introduce the concept to U.S. consumers and train new franchisees, Ragosa and Ruggiero have expanded the franchise offering to include three types of models -- a kiosk, mobile cart and in-line stores, giving franchisees flexibility in their markets, the release stated.

The Kono Pizza menu features three types of customizable cones — breakfast cones, pizza cones and dessert cones The mobile cart, kiosk and in-line store models require minimal staff of one to two part-time employees and one full-time manager.

"Interest in our concept continues to grow on a daily basis," Ragosa said. "Entrepreneurs share in our vision to bring an internationally tested and proven concept to consumers across America. Our new carts, kiosks and in-line store models allow franchisees to break into the growing pizza segment at a significantly lower point of entry than other fast-casual brands."

Kono Pizza has 130 locations operating in 20 countries.