When it comes to pizza, Providence residents generally don’t have a lack of options. There’s Sicilia’s stuffed Chicago-style pizza, Bob & Timmy’s grilled pizza and Caserta’s thick crust pizza on Federal Hill, Fellini’s and Pizza Pie-er’s gourmet pizzas on Wickenden Street, and any number of other choices.
But there is one kind of pizza that Scott Haner, vice president of franchise development for Yum! Brands Inc., said is underrepresented in Providence and outlying areas: Pizza Hut. And he hopes that won’t be the case for long.
This month, Yum! Brands – the world’s largest restaurant company, with more than 34,000 restaurants in 100 countries – announced its interest in recruiting franchisees to open 17 new multi-brand Pizza Hut/WingStreet restaurants in the greater Providence area.
The promotion is part an effort to introduce the dual-branded locations to consumers nationwide, Haner said. WingStreet, a chicken wing fast-food concept that launched four years ago was developed specifically for the pairing with Pizza Hut, because the multi-brand model has proven to successfully expand the customer base by providing more choices.
This year the brand won the Nation’s Restaurant News “Hot Concepts!” award.
“Now we felt we got it to the point where it’s ready for prime time,” Haner said. “We already are the largest delivery wing chain in America.”
To that end, Yum! Brands is holding private meetings with potential investors tomorrow and Wednesday to provide more information about the company’s plans for Providence.
Prior to the meetings, Haner said, the company made inquiries to some current franchise owners in the retail and food service industries “because it’s very important that a franchisee understands the business of the franchise business.”
“They might want to broaden their business base,” he added. “Maybe they already built out the brand they’re in.”
But the company is also considering anyone who has the financial capabilities and know-how to run a business.
“We bring our operating manual,” he said. “We bring the brand … and knowledge as to where to buy food, get sauces, how to make recipes … the process on how to run delivery restaurants, how many drivers you need.”
That’s not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars brands such as Pizza Hut spend on national advertising.
Haner said the company is more interested in opening delivery/takeout restaurants in the Providence area instead of eat-in restaurants because there are so many eat-in choices in larger cities.
When asked what he thinks about Northeast customer loyalty to independently owned restaurants and its impact on the introduction of the national brands, Haner said he doesn’t think it will be a problem.
“There’s always room for the independents,” he said. “No one is going to take out the best pizza in Providence.”
But, he added, a lot of mom-and-pops don’t deliver and might not offer wings as well as pizza. He’s hoping the Pizza Hut/WingStreet restaurants fill a niche in areas where people don’t have a convenient delivery option.
Yum! Brands scouted the 17 possible locations by conducting a market study of Providence’s trade areas, which encompass a 30-mile circle around the city. Anywhere there are 25,000 people without a convenient Pizza Hut/WingStreet for them to access is where the company hopes to open one.
People interested in opening a location should contact Yum! Brands, Haner said. The company has no plans to slow down the development Pizza Hut/WingStreet locations until every opportunity is fulfilled.
“Until we’ve sold out every opportunity in America, there’s still work for us to do,” he said. •
