Pizza Inn

Francis J. Spillman opens a pizza business near the Southern Methodist University campus. Although pizza had been offered for a number of years, mostly in the major East Coast cities with large concentrations of Italian-Americans, a pizza craze swept the country after World War II, resulting in a large number of mom-and-pop operations and eventually entrepreneurs with bigger plans. In 1958, Frank and Dan Carney opened the first Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas, and a year later they incorporated and opened their first franchise unit in Topeka, Kansas. While Pizza Hut was devoted to a table and chairs concept for pizza, Detroit native Tom Monaghan founded Domino's Pizza in 1960 and pioneered the delivery chain. A short time later Michael Ilitch, also from Detroit, founded Little Caesars, which focused on the carry-out of inexpensive pizza. Each of the three future pizza magnates unknowingly carved out a unique share of the future market and for many years were dominant among pizza chains. Pizza Inn, another early entrant in the industry, competed with Pizza Hut in the restaurant category. The company originated in Dallas, Texas, in 1961, a year after one of its co-founders, Francis J. Spillman, had opened a storefront pizza business close to the campus of Southern Methodist University. Before entering the restaurant business, Spillman had worked for Boeing Aircraft and American National Insurance Company. The company began franchising in 1963, employing a territorial concept that permitted franchisees to operate a minimum number of Pizza Inns in a particular area. Rogers was well suited to rescuing an ailing fast food chain, having recently turned around the Bonanza steak restaurant business. While earning a undergraduate degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Denver, he began his business career in the marketing department of International Industries, which was the parent company of International House of Pancakes, Orange Julius, and other franchise chains. After serving five years as International Industries' marketing director, Rogers became president of Communications-200, a Los Angeles advertising agency that did work for A&W Restaurants and other restaurant clients. In 1979, he moved to Dallas to take over marketing for Bonanza, which had been losing money and market share. By 1983, he became president of Bonanza's parent company, USACafes, and was instrumental in the chain tripling in value and gaining a slot on the New York Stock Exchange during the six years he was in charge. In 1989, however, Metromedia Restaurant Group acquired the Bonanza chain and Rogers was let go. For his efforts in revitalizing Pizza Inn, Rogers was named Inc. magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year in the "turnaround category" in September 1994. To maintain momentum in the mid-1990s, Rogers greatly increased Pizza Inn's marketing budget, more than doubling the money spent on television advertising. The size of the Pizza Inn chain continued to grow each year, with new units more than offsetting under-performing ones that were shut down. In 1998, for instance, Pizza Inn opened 66 domestic units and 16 international units, while at the same time closing 54 units domestically and five overseas. Principal Subsidiaries: PIBCO, ltd.; Barko Realty, Inc.; Pizza Inn of Delaware, Inc.; Pizza Inn, Servicos de Gestao de Franchising, Lda.; R-Check, Inc. Principal Competitors: Domino's Pizza Inc.; Godfather's Pizza Inc.; Little Caesar International Inc.; Papa John's International Inc.; Pizza Hut Inc.; Sbarro Inc.; Uno Restaurant Corporation. Alpert, William M., "Pie with Crust," Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly, September 15, 1986, p. 15. Genusa, Angela, "Turnaround: Corporate Cleanup Leads to Pizza Inn Turnaround," Dallas Business Journal June 24, 1994, p. C21. Mehegan, Sean, "Mighty Mice," Restaurant Business, November 1, 2000, pp. 26-30. , "Picking Up the Slices: Five Years After Bankruptcy, Pizza Inn Strives to Make It