PHOENIX-CiCi’s Pizza has launched an aggressive franchise expansion in Arizona and plans to open 25 to 30 new restaurants in metropolitan Phoenix and the Tucson area this year.
The restaurant chain has hired CB Richard Ellis to serve as its exclusive brokerage firm in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Rick Murphy in CBRE’s Phoenix office and Nancy McClure in the firm’s Tucson office will assist CiCi’s in expanding its market share.
Currently, CiCi’s Pizza operates three restaurants in Phoenix with two more in development. In Tucson, there is one CiCi’s currently operating and three additional restaurants in development. CiCi’s goal is to open more than 50 new locations per year over the next five years.
“CiCi’s sees the Arizona market as one with a lot of potential and opportunity because of its demographics – strong population growth and a lot of families,” McClure tells GlobeSt., adding that Tucson, in particular, is an ideal market for the chain. “CiCi’s price point is one that speaks to the majority of the market in Tucson. And, we also a big university presence here.”
CiCi’s has provided CBRE with their demographic requirements, and Murphy and McClure have already begun reviewing the market to determine the areas within Phoenix and Tucson that offer the largest concentration of potential customers. The next step is to identify intersections within specific trade areas and then evaluate specific spaces, either standalone locations or within shopping centers.
McClure says the chain is looking for high visibility locations that offer 3,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet. “We’ll look at a variety of spaces as long as there is good visibility,” she notes, pointing out that now is a good time to find prime locations at a good value. In particular, she points to the opportunities presented by vacant Blockbuster Video and Hollywood Video stores.
Including its plans for Arizona, CiCi’s has about 630 restaurants in 35 states and 150 new restaurants at various stages of development. The chain has ranked number one for both sales and unit growth in the pizza chain category by Nation’s Restaurant News for the past three years and number one franchise in the pizza industry by Franchising Business Review.
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