Marco's Pizza - Wikipedia

American pizza restaurant chain "Marco's" redirects here. For other uses, see Marcos.

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Marco's Franchising LLC

Marco's Pizza, Van Buren Township, Michigan
Trade name	Marco's Pizza
Company type	Private
Industry	Restaurants Franchising
Founded	1978; 48 years ago (1978) in Oregon, Ohio, U.S.
Founder	Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco,
Headquarters	Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Number of locations	1,052
Area served	United States (including Puerto Rico) Bahamas India Mexico
Key people	Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco, Founder Jack Butorac, Chairman and CEO Tony Libardi, President Ken Switzer, Vice President Tim Barr, Vice President of Purchasing Steve Seyferth, Chief Marketing Officer Todd Watson, Chief Legal Officer John Ramsay, Chief Development Officer
Products	Pizza Chicken wings Subs
Revenue	US$3 billion (FY 2020)[1]
Owner	Jack Butorac
Number of employees	20,000 (2021)[1]
Website	marcos.com

Marco's Pizza, operated by Marco's Franchising, LLC, is an American restaurant chain and interstate franchise based in Toledo, Ohio, that specializes in Italian-American cuisine. The first store was opened in Oregon, Ohio, on Starr Avenue. It was founded by Italian immigrant Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco on February 18, 1978.

As of July 2024, Marco's has opened over 1000 stores in the United States (including Puerto Rico), as well as in the Bahamas, India and Mexico. In recent years, Marco's has been expanding, with its 1000th store opening in Kissimmee, Florida on October 21, 2020.[2]

History

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (November 2025)

Founding

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Born in Sulmona, Italy, Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco is the founder of Marco's Pizza.[3] Giammarco moved to the United States from the Abruzzo region of Italy when he was nine years old[4] and grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, where he worked in his family's pizzeria.[5] He and his father made the sauce recipe that is used in Marco's Pizza locations.[6]

Modern history

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In 2002, restaurant industry expert Jack Butorac was asked to analyze three restaurant concepts as potential growth opportunities, including Marco's Pizza. He traveled through Ohio and stopped at five Marco's Pizza stores in different cities.[7][self-published source] He found different exteriors and inconsistent branding, but found that the quality of the pizza was the same at each location. Butorac saw the possibilities in the regional brand.[8]

Butorac began working as a consultant with Giammarco and soon began negotiations to purchase the franchising rights to Marco's Pizza. He assumed leadership of the company in January 2004 with the intent to take Marco's Pizza national.[7][self-published source]

In 2005, nationwide expansion began. Marco's experienced rapid expansion under Butorac's leadership. Since he has owned the company, it has more than doubled in size and expanded to over 35 states, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and India. Butorac was presented with the Golden Chain award by Restaurant News in July 2017.[4]

Marco's Pizza and its president, Bryon Stephens, were featured on the January 29, 2016, episode of the CBS television program Undercover Boss.[9]

In the first half of 2025, Marco's Pizza, opened 41 new stores.[10][11]

Family Video partnership

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In 2013, Family Video formed a partnership with Marco's Pizza, providing space for the franchise in many of its stores. The company used the partnership as a way to deliver video rentals with pizza orders.[12][13] The partnership ended following Family Video shutting down all of their stores in 2021.[citation needed]

Menu

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The Marco's Pizza menu is available for delivery or take-out, while some locations offer dine-in and catering options. The menu includes pizza, subs, wings, salads, CheezyBread, CinnaSquares, pizza bowls, and co-branded Ghirardelli brownies.[14]

Some of the specialty pizzas found on the menu are White Cheezy, Chicken Florentine, Pepperoni Magnifico, Chicken Fresco, Spicy Fresco, and Double Pepperoni Spicy Fresco pizzas. The signature ingredient of the Fresco pizzas is Marco's giardiniera, an Italian pepper relish.[15][16]

Reception

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In 2014, Marco's Pizza was named the #3 best pizza chain by Consumer Reports magazine on its list of Best and Worst Fast Food Restaurants in America based on survey results. It was the first time Marco's Pizza had ever appeared on this list.[17]

In 2016, Marco's Pizza was ranked at #10 on the Pizza Today list of the Top 100 Pizza Companies in the United States.[18] The company was also named one of Marketing Quarterly's Top 25 Pizza Chains and named by Franchising World as number eight on the magazine's list of "Fast and Serious Growth Franchises".

Marco's Pizza was listed at #8 in Pizza Today's Top 100 Pizza Chains for 2017[19] and was named by Franchise Times as number eight on the magazine's list of Fast and Serious growth franchises.[20] In 2012, Marco's Pizza partnered with privately held movie rental chain Family Video to open Marco's locations sharing a building with as many as 350 Family Video stores.[21]

See also

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• List of pizza chains of the United States

References

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1. ^ a b "Marco's Pizza Franchise | Own a Marco's Franchise". Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
2. ^ "About Marco's Pizza". Marco's Pizza. Marco's Franchising LLC. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
3. ^ Ramsey, Duane (November 15, 2013). "Marco's continues to grow after 39 years in the pizza business". Toledo Blade. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
4. ^ a b Hoppe, Janet. "Marco's Franchising Inc". Supply Chain World. Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
5. ^ Livingston, John (December 13, 2013). "Marco's Pizza Previews New Headquarters, Sets Ambitious Growth Plan For 1997". The Free Library. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
6. ^ Thompson, Lynne (January 31, 2020). "Rolling in Dough". Ohio Business. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
7. ^ a b Butorac, Jack (July 4, 2014). "Executive Chat Featuring Jack Butorac, CEO of Marco's Pizza". RebeccaPatt.com (Interview). Interviewed by Valerie Killifer. RebeccaPatt.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
8. ^ Butorac, Jack (January 10, 2011). "Pizza Market Place". The Pizza Marketplace (Interview). Interviewed by Valerie Killifer. The Pizza Marketplace. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
9. ^ Peralta, Katherine (January 20, 2016). "Undercover Boss episode to feature Marco's Pizza in Huntersville". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
10. ^ "Marco's Pizza Adds Over 40 Stores in H1". PMQ Pizza. August 14, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
11. ^ "Marco's Pizza Poised For 28% Growth in Annual Store Openings". Paramount Publications Ltd. August 14, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
12. ^ "For Family Video, renting movies is the past, present and definitely part of the future". Chicago Tribune. April 6, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
13. ^ "Marco's enters $100M deal with Family Video". www.nrn.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
14. ^ "Marco's Pizza Menu". Marco's Pizza. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
15. ^ "Marco's Pizza's New LTOs a Little Sweet, a Little Spicy". QSR Magazine. August 8, 2014. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
16. ^ "Marco's Pizza maker wins gourmet competition in California". QSR Web. August 31, 2006. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
17. ^ "Consumer reports survey ranks Marco's Pizza in the top three". PMQ Pizza Magazine. June 1, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
18. ^ "2016 Top 100 Pizza Companies List". Pizza Today. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
19. ^ "2017 Top 100 Pizza Companies List". Pizza Today. November 1, 2017. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
20. ^ Ewen, Beth (March 1, 2014). "Marco's Pizza". Franchise Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
21. ^ Brandau, Mark (February 9, 2012). "Marco's enters $100M deal with Family Video". Restaurant News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.

External links

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• Official website

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