East Coast Chain &pizza Reaches New Junction

The fast-casual &pizza is looking to double, triple and quadruple—and then some.

By the end of 2030, the brand aims to reach 300 units. To do so, it plans to franchise for the first time, the 13-year-old brand announced today, March 20.

Currently, the concept has 46 restaurants across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and it will now look for partners to acquire some of those existing stores. “The franchise strategy will also include the exploration of partnerships with operators that recognize the strength and resilience of the brand and are eager to develop markets outside of the East Coast,” explains the release.

CEO Mike Burns joined &pizza in November 2023.

In 2024, newer CEO Mike Burns—an industry veteran hailing from RAVE Restaurant Group (owner of Pie Five and Pizza Inn), Pei Wei and Bojangles—worked to overhaul the brand’s tech stack and debut a loyalty program.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for &pizza; I’m proud of all the work that’s been put in by this team to get us to this point,” Burns says in a release. “Over the past several years, &pizza started to drift away from the counterculture and trailblazer vibe that set us apart in the industry. We lost our voice and mainstream became our normal.

“My directive when I came on board last year was to inject energy back into the brand and get us to where we once were,” he continues. “One thing’s for sure—we’re back! We have a solid financial backing from dedicated investors and have assembled an incredible team behind the brand. I’m eager to start speaking with entrepreneurs about their future and opportunities to scale with us.”

Recently, Jollibee, too, announced its plans for its first U.S. franchise program.