In Its 65th Year, America's Hometown Pizza Place Opens First Restaurant with Fully Updated Look That Gives Nod to Nostalgia

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 24, 2023 / Pizza Inn, America's Hometown Pizza Buffet, has announced the debut of its new prototype buffet-style restaurant with the brand's return to the Asheboro, North Carolina, market. Elements of the new design combine modern simplicity and bold colors with warm woods and vintage themes. Components created to engage, entertain, educate, and inspire customers include:

• A movie theater marquee above the buffet, which is considered "the star of the Pizza Inn show." It contains customizable channel lettering that will allow each restaurant to showcase special features.
• Specially made booth seats emblazoned with artwork from Pizza Inn's proprietary flour bag from 1977. The custom vinyl is intended to remind customers that the chain has always made their pizza dough fresh, in-house, and intends to continue providing that value proposition in the future.
• A permanent photo-op wall with pizza-inspired angel wings that proclaims, 'Say Cheese.' Customers can memorialize each visit with a photo in front of the whimsical, themed backdrop and post it on their social media platforms.
• Nearly three-foot lighted marquee letters installed in the ceiling that spell, 'Slice Slice,' and are perpendicular to a soffit emblazoned with 'Baby,' paying homage to the first-ever hip hop single to top the Billboard charts, in 1990.
• Cut-out timeline markers over each booth that visually depict the evolution of the brand's mascot, a happy and hard-working pizza maker, named JoJo. Debuting in 1967, progression of the brand's symbol represents its long heritage and success in remaining relevant through six and a half decades.
• Design for the exterior of the repurposed building focuses on eye-catching colors and easily identifiable branding. The newly developed signage features modern LED lights that have the appearance of vintage neon.

Retail design firm, Chute Gerdeman, and advertising firm, BooneOakley, were hired to help redesign the restaurant and revamp the brand. Their mission was to create a fresh, clean, relevant aesthetic while focusing on the neighborly, reliable, and proud reputation of the iconic brand.

CEO of Pizza Inn's parent company, RAVE Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:RAVE), Brandon Solano, said, "This was truly a collaboration of experience and creativity. It was a tall order to reignite the Pizza Inn brand and still pay homage to our roots and welcoming hometown environment. I think, together, these two agency partners did a phenomenal job. I'm excited to introduce this new look in Asheboro and look forward to having it in all of our restaurants, chainwide."

Claire Oakley, Director of Client Services for BooneOakley addressed her agency's approach saying, "Pizza Inn is not a flash in the pan concept. It's a resilient, nostalgic brand with significant historical roots. We took the very best parts of what made it a truly unique brand and applied modern learnings and design to ensure it could be relevant for newer generations."

Wendy Johnson, EVP and COO at Chute Gerdeman added, "We think the playful energy of the new design will grab the attention of guests old and new. It's inviting, contemporary, and still committed to keeping the buffet the 'hero' of the restaurant."

The new Pizza Inn restaurant located at 1216 E. Dixie Drive, in Asheboro, opened its doors to the public in a festive grand opening ceremony on Tuesday, May 23, according to Owner/Operators, Dion and Dorrance Firooznia.

"We are bringing the buffet back and making it better than ever with our new logo, store design and image," says Dion Firooznia. "With this reopening, we aim to take those fond childhood memories the community had about Pizza Inn and make them even better. Asheboro has been waiting for our return and we look forward to giving them an experience that will make them want to come back for more."

Pizza Inn built a reputation for making fresh pizza dough, in-house, every day, using house-shredded 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese, hand-cutting fresh vegetables and their house-made signature sauce. The menu also includes more than a dozen signature pizzas, traditional pastas and strombolis, as well as unique desserts, called Pizzerts®. One of the biggest draws, however, is a robust, all-you-can-eat, fresh salad bar, with an abundance of house-cut ingredients, a multitude of popular toppings, and six different dressings, including house-made ranch.

The Asheboro Pizza Inn is the fifth Pizza Inn to open this year and marks the seventeenth in the State of North Carolina. It is the second to open under Firooznia's six-unit franchising agreement. The restaurant is open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day. For more information, visit https://www.pizzainn.com.

About RAVE Restaurant Group, Inc.

Dallas-based RAVE Restaurant Group [NASDAQ:RAVE] has inspired restaurant innovation and countless customer smiles with its trailblazing pizza concepts. The Company owns, franchises, licenses and supplies Pie Five and Pizza Inn restaurants operating domestically and internationally. The Pizza Inn experience is unlike your typical buffet. Since 1958, Pizza Inn's house-shredded 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese, fresh ingredients and house-made signature sauce combined with friendly service solidified the brand to become America's favorite hometown pizza place. This, in addition to its small-town vibe, are the hallmarks of Pizza Inn restaurants. In 2011, RAVE introduced Pie Five Pizza, pioneering a fast-casual pizza brand that transformed the classic pizzeria into a concept offering personalization, sophisticated ingredients and speed. Pie Five's craft pizzas are baked fresh daily and feature house-made ingredients, creative recipes and craveable crust creations. For more information, visit www.raverg.com, and follow on Instagram @pizzainn and @piefivepizza.

About Pizza Inn

Since 1958, Pizza Inn's popular pizza buffet and friendly service have solidified the brand as America's hometown pizza place. Unlike your typical buffet, Pizza Inn built a reputation for using house-shredded 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese, fresh ingredients and house-made signature sauce. This, combined with its small-town vibe, are the hallmarks of its restaurants that feature signature pan pizzas, chocolate chip 'pizzerts,' pasta dishes, salads and innovative creations that reflect today's customer cravings. The brand continues to thrive with new menu innovations, including its popular NYXL pizza. Follow Pizza Inn on Instagram @pizzainn and to learn more about franchising opportunities visit www.pizzainn.com/franchise.

Contact Information:

Cozette Phifer
Public Relations
cozette@phifer-pr.com
6024693199

SOURCE: Pizza Inn