New-to-market pizza joint destined for Decatur.
MOD Pizza, an industry leader in the "create your own pizza" segment, has signed its second Atlanta area lease.
MOD Pizza will open in Decatur at Decatur Crossing, at the corner of Scott Boulevard and North Decatur Road. The pizza joint will occupy an inline space near Zoës Kitchen on the Scott Boulevard side of the Sprouts Farmers Market anchored project. (Sprouts celebrated its Grand Opening this past Wednesday, March 1st.)
In addition to Sprouts, MOD joins a number of restaurants with confirmed locations in Decatur Crossing. Among the eateries expected to open in the coming months are First Watch, a breakfast and lunch eatery, Zoës Kitchen, Dunkin' Donuts, Tiff's Treats, a cookie shop, and City Barbecue, an Ohi0 based BBQ franchise.
(A second phase of the project on Scott Boulevard will reportedly include an Aldi and a Chick-fil-A, among other tenants.)
MOD, which stands for "made on demand," was founded in Seattle in 2008 by husband and wife Scott & Ally Svenson* and today includes about 200 locations across 20 states and a few in the United Kingdom.
In January, MOD Pizza announced it had signed its ninth franchisee: Southern Pie, LLC. The franchise group, led by Robbie Hill and his daughter Kimberly Hill Hayden, will develop MOD stores in Georgia and Alabama. Established entrepreneurs, the Hills currently operate a number of Bojangles’ franchises in the southeast.
Sources say that Southern Pie may open as many as three MOD Pizza restaurants in the coming months. The previously announced location at Kennesaw Marketplace in Kennesaw will likely be the first to open.
An 11 inch pie is the standard and most commonly ordered size of pizza at MOD. While the exact price differs slightly by location, the standard pie is often about eight bucks and comes with unlimited toppings.
MOD's Decatur location will be a short distance from where competitor Blaze Pizza has secured space. The first Atlanta area Blaze Pizza will open in the Publix anchored Emory Commons shopping center at the corner of North Decatur and Clairmont Roads.
MOD and Pasadena, California based Blaze are the two largest players in the "create your own" quick serve pizza industry, each with about 200 locations.
MOD and Pasadena, California based Blaze are the two largest players in the "create your own" quick serve pizza industry, each with about 200 locations. Rancho Santa Margarita, California based Pieology is a close third with over 130 locations. Last summer Pieology acquired Carlsbad, California based Project Pie, a competing concept started by James Markham. Markham has played a major role in the entire industry, having co-founded MOD (2008)* and later co-founded Pieology (2011), before starting Project Pie (2012.)
I previously reported that Pieology would open in Decatur Crossing but the chain has since closed its only Atlanta area location and "hit the pause button" on further area expansion.
MOD and Pasadena, California based Blaze are the two largest players in the "create your own" quick serve pizza industry, each with about 200 locations. Rancho Santa Margarita, California based Pieology is a close third with over 130 locations. Last summer Pieology acquired Carlsbad, California based Project Pie, a competing concept started by James Markham. Markham has played a major role in the entire industry, having co-founded MOD (2008)* and later co-founded Pieology (2011), before starting Project Pie (2012.)
I previously reported that Pieology would open in Decatur Crossing but the chain has since closed its only Atlanta area location and "hit the pause button" on further area expansion.
Are you excited for the opening of MOD Pizza in Kennesaw? Have you been to MOD Pizza before? Where else would you like to see MOD Pizza open?
Please share your thoughts below.
3 comments:
It's truly insane to me that "create your own pizza" is being used as a marketing term when nearly every pizza place that has ever existed has allowed customers to choose their toppings
Anon @ 9:40 is right... I wonder if anyone ever challenged people who rave about these new concepts and got them to explain the difference between the new players and established chains OTHER THAN the fact that the chains have been around longer.
ever been to a MOD pizza? It IS NOT the same as all these other pizza places. Better ingredients and you can add as much as you want without blowing up the price of the pizza. MOD tastes better too. Papa Johns and all those other chain pizza stores taste like trash in comparison. My wallet always appreciates it
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