If you’ve decided on going into the pizza business, you might think the location isn’t all that important. After all, a lot of your orders will be delivered, and even if you plan on offering dine-in services you might think pizza is so popular that if you make it they will come. Based on that assumption you might think location takes a back seat to food and quality of service in the pizza business. But you’d be wrong.
The reality is that location matters just as much for a pizza restaurant as it does for any other business—in fact, it might matter more, because you have to position your business to take maximum advantage of dine-in and delivery in a given area. Rosati’s has helped more than 200 of our franchisees find great locations for their pizza restaurants. Here are some tips to help you find the “sweet spot.”
Demographics: Dine-In & Delivery
First, do demographic research aligned with the type of restaurant you’re planning to operate. If you are considering a dine-in pizza place, for example, a location near single-family neighborhoods or in between several neighborhoods is a great option. If your location is going to be more focused on deliveries and take-out, you might think about setting up near a business center or university. On-the-go employees and college students are likely headed elsewhere for sit-down dining or drinks, so a fast setup that slings slices and pies would be just the ticket.
For dine-in locations, setting up near middle-class or single-family neighborhoods not only gives you ready delivery markets—” just call the place down the street”–but also provides fertile ground for promotional marketing and word-of-mouth advertising. This is why you see pizza parlors crop up in strip malls next to nail salons, mobile phone stores, and other suburban accouterments.
Standalone or Strip Mall?
Of course, there are many pizza places that opt for standalone restaurant spaces as well. Depending on the size and needs of your kitchen and dining space, either might be a good fit. Remember that with standalone spaces, you’ll have the benefit of more space but will likely be competing with restaurants targeting a similar demographic (think Applebee’s or Olive Garden). If a strip mall makes more sense to you, aim for the end units, which tend to offer a better setup for restaurants. Here, you’ll have less space but will benefit from the additional traffic that comes from the strip mall’s other businesses.
For a pizza place offering both dine-in and carryout, the best of both worlds is the standalone building within a strip mall. These are often reserved for—and coveted by—restaurants because they combine the reliable traffic of a strip mall with the parking and added space of a standalone building.
Choose a Winning Franchise
By now you have an idea of what a solid location should look like, but what about the franchise? Rosati’s has 87 proprietary ingredients that fuel dozens of Old World Italian recipes. If you want to bring delicious Chicago-style pizza to a winning location near you, contact our franchise team today!
Source for this post: https://www.pmq.com/how-to-find-the-perfect-location-for-a-pizzeria/