Founded in Athens, Georgia in April 2008, Your Pie is the original fast-casual pizza concept. Since its inception, the company has been crafting delicious pizzas using hand-tossed dough, a family marinara recipe, house-made dressings, and the freshest ingredients available. To complement guests’ unique pizza creations, the company also offers a selection of local craft beers. Embracing the Italian tradition where food and family come first, Your Pie strives to be a welcoming place for friends and family to gather and enjoy each other’s company. With the firm belief that hospitality lies in the details, the company goes the extra mile by asking guests for their names when they order, providing extra sauce or dressing for dipping, and delivering food as soon as it is ready.
“Over the few years following our initial launch, we prepared for our franchise expansion, which we began in earnest in early 2014. Today, we operate across many locations with a diverse menu. Our core specialty is custom-made, hand-crafted brick oven pizza, with recipes that beautifully blend authentic Italian heritage and contemporary Southern culture. While our menus typically remain consistent from location to location, we also feature several ‘craft series pizzas’ throughout the year, including our award-winning peach prosciutto pizza,” opens Ken Caldwell, CEO.
Iconic yet atypical, the peach and prosciutto pizza speaks to Your Pie’s ambitious approach to research and development (R&D), as the company is always looking to create exciting new dishes. Ken shares insights into Your Pie’s R&D process and latest menu items. “Drew French, our founder, is the visionary behind our recipes. He possesses an incredible talent for pairing unique flavors, trendy ingredients, and traditional pizza favorites in a way that makes our dishes interesting and compelling, yet accessible. Nonetheless, we are always mindful of ensuring that our menu remains relevant. While we are a pizza place first and foremost, and always will be, innovation is a core value of our brand, and this commitment definitely applies to our menu. As a result, we frequently launch enticing new menu items. In the past 12 months, we have introduced oven-fired wings and what we call Pizza Shop Sandwiches. Even though all the recipes may feel familiar, each one of them carries a distinct Your Pie touch that makes it a little different,” he enlightens.
Your Pie on the Fly
Innovation does not stop at introducing fresh menu items for Your Pie. Recently, the company launched its ‘Your Pie on the Fly’ concept, building upon its original model to cater to modern demands. “We are not alone in the restaurant world in realizing that convenience is paramount to consumers these days. While they still do and always will want good food and great servive at a fair price, they increasingly want it faster and easier. Hence, Your Pie on the Fly marks our first entrée into non-traditional locations. This year, we have successfully operated in an arena, and we will be opening in a university student center in August with the Your Pie on the Fly model. In short, it is the same great pizza our guests can get in our restaurants, albeit a more limited menu, but without the ‘down-the-line’ process and delivered even faster. From a unit level economic perspective, we see it as a smaller footprint, with fewer employees required and simpler operations. Although guests will not be able to get the same great customized, made-to-order experience that they do when visiting our Your Pie restaurants, we firmly believe that Your Pie on the Fly will be a winning model in non-traditional venues,” Ken explains. 
Building a brand
In addition to its relentless pursuit of innovation, Your Pie’s growth has been accelerated by a successful franchising strategy, which Ken is eager to discuss in greater detail. “Franchising is in our DNA. I have spent virtually my entire career in franchising, and wholeheartedly believe it is the best growth strategy for building brands. Personally, I am convinced that the ‘corporate model’, on the whole, can outperform local, invested franchisees. As a small but ambitious brand, our strategy begins with our people. At Your Pie, we need committed, community-oriented leaders who share our values and passion for the brand – everything else is secondary. When it comes to selecting new franchise operators, our process aligns with that of most franchise brands, and includes lead generation marketing, application, brand introduction, Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) sharing, Discovery Days, validation, and decision-making. We still conduct in-person Discovery Days because we firmly believe that this is the best way for candidates to truly understand our brand and culture, as well as for our team to assess the qualifications of each candidate. To help evaluate our applicants, we have partnered with Zorakle to ensure that their traits align with those of our most successful franchisees.”
To conclude, Ken offers a tribute to Your Pie’s franchisees: “Like many restaurateurs, our franchisees have faced significant challenges over the past few years. They have been resilient and adapted extremely well to many obstacles, from the pandemic and inflation to an unstable political climate and consumer uncertainty. I could not be prouder to be associated with such a dedicated group of people, and I look forward to partnering with them in the years ahead as we elevate our brand to new heights,” he ends.
