Pizza Franchise Sizzles in Sunny Florida

TOLEDO, OH, February 01, 2013 (Press-News.org) Marco's Pizza, the fastest-growing pizza company in the U.S., is targeting the entire sunshine state for growth in 2013. With 37 franchise locations already operating throughout Florida, the company expects to have an additional four stores open in the greater Miami area, three stores open in the Orlando/Jacksonville region and two additional stores open in the Naples/North Port area by the end of the first quarter. An additional two-to-three Florida Marco's Pizza stores will open per month throughout the year.

Marco's Pizza has more than 340 stores in 26 states, the Bahamas and Panama. The franchise opened 61 new locations in 2012 and already signed agreements to open 104 more in 2013. The Marco's Pizza franchise system took less than five years to more than double in size.

There are several factors driving the growth of Marco's Pizza in the Florida market. The economy is beginning to slowly improve. Workers remain concerned about being laid off from large companies, but now have more income and personal incentive to own a franchise opportunity. Additionally, the commercial real estate market throughout Florida is ripe for expansion efforts. Sites are available and landlords are highly motivated to attract strong retail brands to their properties.

The Marco's Pizza area reps responsible for growing the state have been in the region for several years and their efforts are reaping exponential rewards. Additionally, the brand has built relationships from attending events such as the Asian American Hotel Operators Association convention, thereby tapping into second and third generation entrepreneurs who are eager to live the American dream of business ownership.

"The single biggest reason for our growth is our food. We use fresh dough made daily on site, a proprietary cheese that is fresh never frozen and a secret pizza sauce recipe created by the Italian born founder with a little help from his father," said Jack Butorac, Marco's Pizza president and CEO. "Truly, the product is the star."

Marco's Pizza owes its success, in part, to a burgeoning $40 billion U.S. pizza market. The U.S. pizza category is growing at a rate of between 1 and 2 percent per year.

The Marco's Pizza franchise opportunity is available to single and multi-unit franchise owners looking for business opportunities across the United States. To enable growth, in 2011 Marco's Pizza launched a partnership with The Bancorp Bank ("Bancorp"), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), and Franchise America Finance . The partnership provides a small business lending outlet for prospective Marco's Pizza franchise owners, as well as existing franchise owners who want to expand their portfolio by opening a second location. They are provided with up to $9 million to finance new franchise locations, to refinance current owners, and to finance the acquisition of existing stores.

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchising opportunities, visit http://www.marcosfranchising.com.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA:
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza (Marco's Franchising, LLC) is the fastest-growing pizza company in the U.S. (based on the number of stores signed into development since 2007). Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian born, Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making Italian Pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate more than 340 stores in 26 states, the Bahamas and Panama. Marco's Pizza recently ranked 11th place in the "2012 Pizza Industry Top 100 Movers & Shakers" article sent out by PizzaMarketPlace.com. To inquire about franchise opportunities with Marco's Pizza visit marcosfranchising.com.