Russo’s New York Pizzeria is an emerging franchise that’s quickly making a name for itself in the pizza industry. We serve authentic Italian food in a New York City atmosphere. That means everything from our authentic pizzas to our unforgettable pastas, and even the sauces we use for every dish are made in-house using 100-year-old family recipes.
Our delicious and authentic food offerings are why Alex and Nivine (photographed above) decided to franchise with Russo’s in 2006, and they haven’t looked back since. Here’s why:
1) OUR PASSION FOR HIGH-QUALITY FOOD IS OBVIOUS
The consensus is unanimous; the franchisees in our system all say they were attracted to our brand because of the food. It’s easy to see why our pizza is award-winning; we carefully make and hand-toss our dough in-house and hand-crush vine-ripened tomatoes for our sauce. Best of all, we use a brick oven to bake our New-York-style pizzas to perfection. We get in the kitchen and cook using generations-old recipes that keep our customers’ mouths watering.
Russo’s truly is a chef-inspired concept. That means our founder, Chef Anthony Russo, travels around the world to source the finest ingredients. For example, we use estate-aged basalmic vinaigrette imported directly from Modena, Italy, and 100 percent Sicilian extra virgin olive oil sourced directly from Sicily, exclusively for Russo’s Restaurants. This is only the beginning of the authenticity simmered into each and every Russo’s recipe.
2) THE PROOF IS IN THE TICKET MARGINS
We have lower food costs than our competitors and high margins to our bottom line. At Russo’s, food costs average to 20.7 percent, while the average net cash flow averages at 18.2 percent.*
How do we do it? Easy. Russo’s offers a diverse menu mix that caters to a variety of tastes. Most pizza franchises only serve pizza; on top of our award-winning pizza, we offer authentic Italian favorites, including pastas, sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. And since we give it all to our customers for an affordable price, they’re more inclined to add to their order —improving ticket averages.
So far, Russo’s has seen nothing but growth in the United States and on an international level. The reason for this is consumer trends in the pizza industry are changing. PMQ Pizza Magazine says the next generation of pizza lovers want higher-quality offerings with fresh, all-natural ingredients. That’s exactly what Russo’s serves – a high-quality experience with authentic food to match. Meanwhile, our competitors are scrambling to keep up with today’s pizza trends. Pizza franchises like Pizza Hut have seen a continuous net decline of stores since 2015.
3) HANDS-ON SUPPORT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Russo’s franchisees are not afraid to get into the kitchen and make food the way it should be made—using fresh ingredients and tried and true recipes. That’s why we offer comprehensive pre- to post-opening support, where you’ll get a hands-on four- to six-week training at our Houston headquarters.
Before you open the doors to your first Russo’s location, our Franchise Specialists are physically by your side, helping to ensure you have a perfectly trained staff in place ready for the big day. We also help with grand-opening publicity and your marketing plan. After your grand opening, we provide one-on-one support and guidance on a monthly basis to see what works best in your market.
Russo’s franchisees also benefit from collective buying power. We have strong relationships with premier vendors and suppliers who give us preferred pricing for the high-quality ingredients we use in every dish. It’s thanks to these relationships we’re able to offer such a high-value experience to our customers on a daily basis.
4) UNIQUE, INNOVATIVE STORE MODEL
Russo’s Next Generation Pizza & Italian Restaurant model is leading the fast-casual Italian dining category by creating a store (and business) model that is meeting customer demand as well as investor needs.
Our smaller footprint (1,500-1,800 sq. ft.) allows for an intimate, yet upscale dine-in experience focused on customer service. From an investment perspective, a smaller footprint means a lower barrier to entry for entrepreneurs entering the restaurant franchise business with an initial investment less than $500,000 in select markets. (With a $972,891 AUV*!)
In a recent Mintel Reports study, Foodservice Analyst, Diana Kelter, shares these findings: As dining habits shift and the landscape gets more competitive, fast casuals look beyond what worked in the past and focus on what lies ahead, including more premium beverages and automation as well as the showcasing of specialty concepts on a mainstream stage. The report also revealed fast-casual restaurants are “struggling to capture the dinner appeal.”
Russo’s is already catering to these consumer demands.
We serve gourmet-quality pizza and Italian offerings in a NYC-worthy environment using an open-kitchen concept. Our customers come for the unforgettable food but stay for the good times that come with it. Come into one of our locations to see it for yourself.
If you can’t already tell, we’re obsessed with quality. From ingredients to support, we provide our franchisees the best. If you want to keep learning why Russo’s is the only pizza franchise you should consider, click here.