Marco’s Pizza ® Franchise Continues Expansion in Cleveland Area

Posted Nov 4th, 2014

Matt Baker, longtime Marco’s Pizza ® franchise owner, featured in The Plain Dealer daily newspaper

Marco’s Pizza ® is the only major national pizza franchise founded by a native Italian. Our pies are made in the tradition of Italian artisan pizza, using a sauce based on an old Italian family recipe and paying special attention to quality ingredients.

Marco’s Pizza ®, the fastest-growing pizza franchise in the United States, recently surpassed the milestone of 500 stores, and we’re well on our way to having 1,000 locations by the end of 2016. Enthusiastic multi-unit franchise owners like Matt Baker in the Cleveland, Ohio, area are a big reason for our fast-paced growth.

Matt, who is also an Area Representative for Marco’s, recently caught the attention of Ohio’s largest newspaper, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. Business journalist Janet H. Cho spoke with Matt about his experience as a 27-year franchisee. Matt owns Marco’s Pizza ® franchises in Stow, Cuyahoga Falls and Akron. He joined Marco’s at 17, making pizzas at a store managed by his wrestling coach’s wife.

The 44-year-old told The Plain Dealer that he sees potential for even more Marco’s in his district, which stretches from Lorain County to the Pennsylvania border and south to the Akron-Canton area. He plans to open three more locations in the greater Cleveland area by the end of this year: at 2474 Manchester Road in Akron, 14871 Detroit Road at the Marc’s Plaza in Lakewood, and in downtown Cleveland near the city’s Playhouse Square.

Even after 27 years, Matt is still impressed by the value and quality Marco’s brings to the marketplace. To him, it’s all about the superiority and freshness of our ingredients.

“We use a fresh blend of three cheeses, never frozen,” he tells Cho. “Our dough is made onsite daily. The sauce is made daily, with a special secret spice recipe. We have people that just grow Marco’s tomatoes.”

The Plain Dealer also reported on Matt’s plans to put Marco’s locations inside more than 350 Family Video stores over the next several years.

Eugene Fram, emeritus professor of marketing at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Saunders College of Business, says pairing pizza and movies is a good idea.

“The two go together,” he told the newspaper.

As Matt continues to grow the Marco’s footprint in the region, he’s looking for franchisees who want to open stores in Akron’s Goodyear Heights area, Ashtabula, Aurora, Bay Village/Rocky River, Brecksville, Canton, Highland Heights/Richmond Heights, Hudson, Kent, Mayfield Heights, Painesville, Solon, Streetsboro and Wadsworth.

Meanwhile, Marco’s sees all of northeast Ohio as ripe for expansion. We have 37 stores in the area and plan to open 14 more locations and hire about 400 people in the region by 2016. Statewide, Marco’s has 123 restaurants that have created more than 1,800 jobs.

Learn more about Marco’s

At Marco’s, we’re excited about our rapid growth, and there’s never been a better time for the new or experienced investor to join our proven concept. If you’re an entrepreneur with a passion for working with people, owning a Marco’s pizza franchise may be the perfect fit for you. To learn more about joining our dynamic and growing company, please fill out the form below or call us at 1-800-262-7267 to start a conversation. We’d love to hear from you!