Main Line Pizza, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, is rolling in the dough since it began using text message marketing a year ago.

“It has been very effective,” said co-owner Jennifer Saionz who handles the marketing for Main Line Pizza while husband Robert runs the restaurant’s day-to-day operations. “We plan to expand our use of it this year, because it is so cost effective.”

In the past, Jennifer has done direct mail, Valpak coupons, calendars and brochures to promote Main Line Pizza, but she has seen the effectiveness of those traditional advertising mediums decline as more and more Americans make their cell phones their primary means of communication.

“Direct mail wasn’t working as well as we had hoped since the cell phone became so popular,” said Jennifer Saionz. “We also thought texting would be a great way to promote our business to college kids to get them to come in.” Within three miles of Main Line Pizza are several colleges and universities, of which the largest is nearby Villanova University.

Main Line Pizza chose to work with 84444.com which operates a do-it-yourself text message marketing tool owned by Advanced Telecom Services. “I’m self-taught when it comes to computers and their system was very easy to use,” said Jennifer. “If you ever get stuck, all you have to do is hit the live help button in the upper right of the screen and they are there to help you.”

The first thing the Saionz’s had to do when they decided to utilize text message marketing was to create a database of its customers since all mobile marketing is opt-in marketing. That means that customers must give Main Line Pizza permission to send them text messages.

This was done through offering mobile coupons and discounts to their loyal customers. Customers could “Text MLPIZZA to 84444” to receive the special offer of the week. Then, once the customer has done so, Main Line Pizza is permitted to send them broadcast text messages in the future.

Main Line Pizza has promoted its keyword (MLPIZZA) and short code (84444) to its customers via window signs, menus, stickers on its pizza boxes, and even at the cash register. “Customers can text when they come in the store and get 10% off right there if they show me the text message,” said Robert Saoinz. “That really has helped build our database.”

The first coupon that Main Line Pizza did was to buy a large pizza and get a small for free. This was done to encourage business on Mondays and Tuesdays which are traditionally the slowest days of the week for the restaurant.

The restaurant also did a broadcast text message promotion for a special party platter for the Super Bowl. “We got an 11% return rate on the Super Bowl promotion,” said Robert. “That blew me away.”

To help grow its database of cell phone numbers, the restaurant is planning on giving away tickets to a Villanova basketball game next season through a sweepstakes on the text message system. “The more people we get in the database,” said Robert, “the more effective that our promotions will be.”

Main Line Pizza is also planning on implementing QR codes. When a customer scans its QR code from a smartphone, the customer will see Main Line Pizza’s current menu on the phone.

“Our new slogan is ‘we’re more than just pizza,’” said Jennifer.

Yes, you are Jennifer. You’re also getting a bigger slice of the local pizza market thanks to your text message marketing campaigns.

The family-owned Main Line Pizza restaurant is located in Wayne, Pennsylvania — a small town 10 miles west of Philadelphia. Owners Robert and Jennifer Saionz have been its owners for 18 years.

84444.com provides text message marketing solutions to businesses and organizations. It is owned by Advanced Telecom Services.

Pizza Inn, Inc. is redefining the pizza dining experience with the launch of Pie Five Pizza Co., a new fast-casual concept that will offer more than five million combinations of custom made, fresh to order individual pizzas baked in less than five minutes.

The first restaurant opens today, June 3, in Fort Worth, at 2600 W. 7^th Street in Montgomery Plaza, blending an industrial chic design in an upscale neighborhood, complete with revolutionary ovens and a skilled crew behind the counter. Customers can order off the Pie Five menu or choose their own individual 9-inch crust, sauce and toppings combinations to be assembled before them and ready to savor by the time they check out.

“This is true gourmet pizza prepared to the customer’s wishes without the wait,” says Charlie Morrison, president and CEO of Pizza Inn, who is leading the introduction. “Pie Five achieves the three most important things in the restaurant world: a delicious product delivered in record time in an exciting destination.”

The Pie Five prototype is 1,800 square-feet with 60 seats, offering dine-in or carryout options to pizza lovers on the go. The concept targets a growing fast-casual audience demanding variety and control without sacrificing taste and style.

The menu offers 10 specialty pies with gourmet flavors or a build-your-own option to suit individual desires.

“We are filling a huge void that isn’t being served by big chains stuck in price wars and forced to heat up frozen products for the lowest returns,” Morrison added.

The entrepreneurial venture is backed by seasoned restaurant executives with international clout and the Pizza Inn franchising foundation with plans to grow the brand up to 100 locations a year. The concept will target urban lifestyle centers in major markets, adding a second target audience separate from Pizza Inn’s more than 300 existing restaurants.

A complete menu and more information on Pie Five is available at www.piefivepizza.com.

Tulsa-based Mazzio’s LLC, a fast casual Italian concept with 170 units largely concentrated in the Midwest, has signed a new franchise development agreement that will break the 50-year old chain onto the east coast. RAMK, a successful multi-unit / multi-concept development company has acquired the rights for the entire Commonwealth of Virginia for Mazzio’s.

According to Pizza Marketing Quarterly Magazine’s 2010 Pizza Power Report, Mazzio’s is the 15th largest pizza chain in the United States, based on system wide sales, and is the 20th largest pizza chain based on total unit count. The fast casual Mazzio’s concept features award winning pizzas, made-to-order pastas, sandwiches, and fresh specialty salads and appetizers. The chain, a proven concept flourishing in 8 Midwestern states, recently kicked off their 50th Anniversary celebration with a new focus to expand throughout the entire United States.

Experienced restaurateurs and multi-unit franchisees Raj and Alka Gandhi are the owners of RAMK. The Gandhi’s, who immigrated to the United States from New Delhi, India, had over 12 years of business management and finance experience before launching their restaurant development company RAMK. In addition to their new investment in Mazzio’s, RAMK is also a franchisee of Exxon Mobil and the Firkin Group of Pubs. The husband and wife duo are the most successful franchisees for the Firkin Group of Pubs, with a thriving location in Virginia’s Dulles Airport.

The new franchisees began the site selection process this week for the first of 30 Mazzio’s restaurants planned for throughout Virginia.

Mazzio’s CEO Greg Lippert had this to say, “Mazzio’s has been what we call the quality leader in the pizza segment, perfecting our model, menu and focusing our growth on a concentrated region in the Midwest. The time is right to take this winning formula to new developers and consumers in markets across the US and in select international markets. We are enjoying same store sales growth this year, and we continue to rank among the usual heavyweight pizza concepts on industry lists for systemwide sales. I knew the minute we met Raj and Alka that they understood the concept and why our restaurants were so successful so we are very confident they will represent Mazzio’s well in Virginia.”

New franchisee Raj Gandhi commented, “We had been looking for the past few years for a restaurant franchise concept we thought we could build into a large business. Italian/Pizza is as pervasive as it gets but the guest experience and price value offering at Mazzios is simply better than anything else we have seen. During our Discovery Day at Mazzio’s headquarters, we were thoroughly impressed by their management team. Many Mazzio’s executives have been with the company for twenty years or more. They are true professionals in this business; they are not just a franchisor, they also operate over sixty corporate restaurants.”

Fransmart, the franchise development company behind the explosive growth of brands such as QDOBA Mexican Grill, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Zpizza is spearheading Mazzio’s growth plans.

Says Fransmart CEO Dan Rowe, “There isn’t another fast casual Italian concept in Virginia I believe will compete with Mazzio’s. The Gandhi’s know how to operate high volume restaurant franchises, and Mazzio’s is a model that works. We found a perfect fit.”

Mazzio’s ranks among the top US pizza brands for unit count and system-wide sales. Despite our far reaching successes, Mazzio’s has been a steady leader in the pizza industry for over 50 years. Headquarted in Tulsa, Oklahoma, most of our 170+ restaurants are concentrated in the Midwest, a region known for hospitality, family values and modesty. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we are energized to share our brand with customers across the United States and in select international markets.

Mazzio’s Corporation is a privately held Tulsa restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises Mazzio’s Italian Eatery and Oliveto Italian Bistro restaurant brands in the United States. Mazzio’s Italian Eatery was recognized in Technomic’s annual list of the Top 45 Pizza Chains by Average Store Sales, and was also ranked the 15th largest pizza chain in the United States, based on system wide sales in Pizza Marketing Quarterly’s 2010 Pizza Power Report. Additionally, Mazzio’s was ranked in Chain Leader Magazine’s annual “Best Places to Work” report due to the concepts’ low General Manager turnover rate (16%) and depth of employee benefits. Mazzio’s Pizza has consistently won “Best Pizza” awards in their primary markets for many years and has a very loyal customer base and retains an industry leading Customer Loyalty Index for Overall Satisfaction from SMG.

Learn more about the Mazzio’s fast casual pizza & Italian franchise opportunity.

Papa Murphy’s International, America’s take ‘n’ bake pizza leader and fifth largest pizza chain in the U.S., today announced the hiring of Ken Calwell to the position of President, effective June 6th. He will report to John Barr, Papa Murphy’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Ken joins Papa Murphy’s with over 20 years of leadership experience at large quick service restaurant chains.  Most recently Ken was the Chief Marketing Officer for Wendy’s International where he was accountable for all Brand Marketing, Advertising, New Product Development, Pricing, Field Marketing, and Research and Development.  Prior to joining Wendy’s, Ken was the Chief Marketing Officer and Executive VP of Research and Development at Domino’s Pizza where he was part of the leadership team that executed a comprehensive business turnaround and led the company through an IPO in 2004.  Prior to joining Domino’s, Ken also held leadership positions at Frito Lay, Pizza Hut, and The Pillsbury Company.

“We are excited and very fortunate that Ken will be joining our senior management team,” said Barr.  ”Ken is an accomplished restaurant industry executive with deep expertise leading highly visible consumer brands.”

Ken holds a B.B.A. from Washburn University and an M.B.A. from Indiana University.  Ken currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Papa Murphy’s is the fifth-largest pizza chain in the country and a revolutionary of the take ‘n’ bake pizza segment. Papa Murphy’s operates over 1,250 franchised and corporate-owned locations in 37 states and Canada. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company offers custom-made pizzas featuring high-quality, fresh toppings generously layered on pizza dough that is made fresh each morning in each store.  By baking Papa Murphy’s pizzas at home, customers get to experience the home-baked aroma of a convenient, delicious meal that the brand is known for. In addition to handmade pizzas, the company offers other take ‘n’ bake items such as Cheesy Bread, Cinnamon Wheels, and chocolate chip cookie dough. Papa Murphy’s was voted “#1 Rated Pizza Chain” by participants in Zagat Survey’s 2010 Fast Food Survey and is a four-time recipient of Pizza Today’s Chain of the Year award.