Pizza Inn, the international pizza restaurant with a local hometown feel, honored its top franchisees at the annual Pizza Inn Convention in Orlando, Florida. On Tuesday, June 26, the brand honored multiple franchisees including Michael Moore as Franchisee of the Year for exemplary dedication to customer satisfaction, community service and team leadership.
“The Pizza Inn Convention is like a big family reunion where we celebrate our successes,” says Pizza Inn president, Bob Bafundo. “This year was made even more special as we celebrated our 60th anniversary with many second and third generation franchise owners who take pride in making Pizza Inn ‘America’s Hometown Pizza Place.’”
Michael Moore, a multi-unit franchisee from New Mexico, received multiple awards including the Griff Glover Franchisee of the Year Award. Moore’s Pizza Inn locations had the highest increase in same store sales of any multi-unit franchisee for 2018. He also implemented innovations in delivery technology including his use of branded delivery cars, which significantly increased sales.
“Michael, along with his wife, CaraBeth, have been very ambitious in testing new ways to generate sales through new technologies, delivery and marketing initiatives,” says Bafundo. “The Moores also took home an award celebrating their restaurant remodel. They are everything we look for in our franchisees and we are very lucky to have them as part of the family.”
Daven Acker was awarded the Keep the Fire Burning Award for his leadership roles on the Pizza Inn Franchise Association and Advertising Council. Acker played a significant role in testing new initiatives throughout the year and became the largest buffet franchisee in the Pizza Inn system.
The H.M. Poythress Award went to Greenville, South Carolina, franchisee Amanda Cartegine. This lifetime achievement award recognizes franchisees for consistently demonstrating a passion for the highest quality products and services for the Pizza Inn brand. Members of the Pizza Inn Franchise Association also recognized second generation franchisee, Kaleb Herrly, and awarded him with the Paul Turner Award for his overall contribution and commitment to the brand.
Advertising agency, Johnson & Sekin, received the vendor award for their work on Pizza Inn rebranding and creating the new logo and tagline – Americas Hometown Pizza Place. They were also instrumental in creating the 60th Anniversary campaign and car giveaway sweepstakes.
“We consider Johnson & Sekin a part of the Pizza Inn family,” adds Denise Pedini, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Pizza Inn. “They go above and beyond to create unique and creative advertising ideas for the brand and have taken the lead on all of our creative including branding for our website, social media, print marketing, and in-store marketing.”
The popular pizza chain is known nationwide for its exceptional pizza and friendly service. The restaurant’s original pizzas blend everyone’s favorite ingredients to create distinctively unforgettable flavor combinations with homemade pizza crust that is made fresh daily.
