Pie Five was named for the concept of preparing a customized pizza in five minutes.[1] The menu offers standard and made-to-order personal pizzas, salads, calzones, bread, and dessert. Many locations serve beer.
On June 3, 2011, the company Pizza Inn opened the first Pie Five Pizza in Fort Worth, Texas.[3][4] They had five locations within the Fort Worth area by the end of the year, and as of January 2015, they had 31 locations.[4]
Former PepsiCo and Yum! Brands executive Randy Gier joined the company in 2012. He was CEO until 2016.[5][6]
On January 9, 2015, the parent company Pizza Inn Holdings (ticker symbol: "PZZI") was rebranded as a portfolio company named Rave Restaurant Group (ticker symbol: "RAVE") as Pie Five Pizza locations began to increase.[4]
In March 2017, Pie Five announced that all but one of the nine Chicago locations were closing, with only one more opening. Pie Five closed several midwestern stores in March 2017, including two locations in the Twin Cities metro in Eden Prairie and Woodbury and several Chicago area locations, to focus on its other markets. Later that year, they opened their first West Coast store in San Francisco, California.[citation needed]
Three locations opened in south central Pennsylvania in early 2017, before converting to a regional franchise and ultimately closing in early 2018.[7][8]
In October 2019, RAVE Restaurant Group announced that its board of directors has named Brandon L. Solano as chief executive officer.[9]
In end-of-quarter/fiscal-year reporting as of October 2020, Pive Five comparable store retail sales had decreased 15.7 percent from the previous year, with most of the 42 locations said to be using third-party delivery services.[10]
A January 2021 analysis of the chain's struggles identified reasons such as a highly competitive market, very fast location growth and franchising, accustomizing pizza customers to the fast-casual individual experience, mixed reviews at individual locations that may have kept customers from returning, poor marketing investment, potential impending Nasdaq delisting, and a 2018 credit card security breach.[11]
In March 2021, Pie Five had announced a new Panzano Pan Crust. The company says it is uniquely positioned against its competitors to make this product because of the types of ovens they use.[12]
Pie Five Pizza is considered a pioneer of the first fast casual pizza category and has twice been named among Fast Casual's Top 15 "Movers & Shakers" (2013/2014). Pie Five has also been recognized as a 2012 Hot Concepts winner[13]byNation's Restaurant News and one of "10 Hot New Restaurant Chains from Established Brands"[14] by Forbes.com.
2016 – Ranked #1 Restaurant Business by Future 50
2016 – Patty Scheibmeir listed on Fast Casual's Movers & Shakers people list
2015 – Named Best Franchise Deal by QSR Magazine
2015 – Ranked #3 on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers & Shakers list
2014 – Hermes Creative Award Gold Winner for "Be Pie-Partisan" campaign
2014 – Listed on Fast Casual's Movers & Shakers people list
2014 – Ranked #13 on Fast Casual.com Top 50 Restaurant Brands of the Year
2013 – Ranked #40 on Fast Casual.com Top 50 Restaurant Brands of the Year
2013 – Named in "Top Trendsetting Executives in Pizza" by Pizza Marketplace
2012 – Named one of "10 Hot New Restaurant Chains from Established Brands" by Forbes
2012 – Named Hot Concepts Award winner by Nation's Restaurant News
