News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Pizza Patron’

Pizza Patron markets itself as the “premier Latino pizza brand,” building stores in primarily Spanish-speaking or Latino neighborhoods. The Dallas-based company has recorded five straight quarters of double-digit same-store sales increases.

“The continued sales growth is a sign that we are on the right track,” said Pizza Patron founder Antonio Swad last fall when the Q3 2007 numbers were released. “Our core philosophy of providing excellent food at exceptional values every day has helped us gain valuable market share in the ultra-competitive pizza segment.” “*

*From: http://www.pizzamarketplace.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

When the Pizza Patron Inc. chain signed L.A.-based Hispanic radio star Piolin as a pitchman, it was a declaration of war for a slice of the Latino pizza-buying market.

Dallas-based Pizza Patron only has two of its 70 stores in Los Angeles, but three more are under construction and there are plans for others in the works. The chain will not only be competing with La Pizza Loca Inc., based in Santa Fe Springs and with 44 stores in the L.A. area, but with large chains such as Little Caesars, Pizza Hut and Domino’s.”*

*From: http://www.labusinessjournal.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Pizza Patron, the premier Latino pizza brand, recently signed with popular radio personality Piolin to endorse the concept. As part of the company marketing campaign, the chain licensed the use of Piolin’s image and highly-recognized logo for their marketing, advertising and in-store promotions.

The LA Times ranks Sotelo among the 100 most powerful people in Southern California. Piolin has the No. 1 Spanish-language morning show in Los Angeles, with a 5.0 share. He has a higher rating than Howard Stern, Ryan Seacrest, Kevin & Bean or any other of his English-language morning radio show. He also has the No. 1 syndicated show among the 645 Spanish-language stations nationwide. In short, Piolin is the No. 1 morning radio show, Spanish-language or otherwise, in the U.S.

“We worked long and hard to see this partnership come to fruition,” said Andrew Gamm, Director of Brand Development for Pizza Patron. “Piolin is a uniquely gifted individual who is not only entertaining, but he is dedicated to community involvement. He regularly assists listeners with immigration issues as well as financial, legal and medical crises, he is always helping people.”

This agreement marks the first national advertising campaign for Pizza Patron. In addition to utilizing Piolin in their print advertising and marketing efforts, the chain will be airing spots daily on Piolin’s nationally syndicated program Piolin por la Manana.

“Piolin is the living embodiment of what Pizza Patron is all about on a number of levels and we are thrilled with this agreement,” says Antonio Swad, founder of Pizza Patron Inc. “Our brand focus and commitment to community for more that 20 years make this the perfect fit.”

The agreement with Piolin comes on the heels of six consecutive quarters of double-digit, same store sales increases for the chain.”*

“Pizza Patron has been named the premier distributor for the initial launch of BlagCardTM, the worlds first truly unlimited calling card to Mexico. The chain will begin retailing the cards in each of its 65 locations beginning Friday, July 27th. The new calling cards are the result of a strategic alliance between Pizza Patron Inc. and BlagPhoneTM International. All calls will be carried on the AT&T network.

“This partnership means much more than just pizza and phones,” said Anthony Knape, CEO/President of BlagCard, Inc. and BlagPhone, Inc. “We get deep satisfaction and joy from participation in the vitality of the Hispanic culture, the uniting of families and the living of an unstoppable dream.”

Unlike traditional calling cards which charge by the minute, these new cards allow unlimited calling to any area code in Mexico with no additional charges or penalties. The cards are available in three denominations — five, ten and thirty dollars and will allow for unlimited talk for two, seven and thirty days respectively. Customers will have the option of purchasing cards in either U.S. currency or Mexican pesos.

“This is a perfect fit for the Patron brand,” says Antonio Swad, founder of Pizza Patron Inc. “When I heard that we could help reconnect families and help mend broken hearts for as little as a dollar a day, I knew we were on to something really special. Its the kind of thing that a Patron would bring to his people, so we are doing it.”

The introduction of the phone cards comes on the heels of four consecutive quarters of double-digit, same store sales increases for the chain.

“We are extremely excited about what this product brings to our customers,” said Andrew Gamm, director of Brand Development for Pizza Patron. “The phone card industry is notorious for its deceptive marketing practices, and for preying on the most vulnerable segments within the immigrant population. Now, for the first time ever, we have a phone card to Mexico that does not punish the caller. We are very proud to truly offer Mas Minutos for Menos Dinero to the families that visit our stores.”

About Pizza Patron

Pizza Patron was founded by Antonio Swad in 1986. Since franchising began in March 2003, the brand has gone from four locations in Dallas to 65 in five states, with more than 40 under development. Pizza Patron features fun and festive pizza stores that are community-based in Spanish-speaking or predominately Hispanic neighborhoods. In 2006 Pizza Patron successfully introduced new products like Patron DippersTM and Fiesta WingsTM, and rolled-out their “ListaTM” ready now pizza program nationally. In addition, Pizza Patron has developed a dine-in store model, the Pizza Patron Rapidito airports/malls model, the “Tiendita” portable mini-store extension and their “ListaTM” Drive-thru concept. All pizza dough is made fresh throughout the evening; no preservatives are added or needed. The sauce is prepared fresh in the stores from crushed Roma tomatoes and only 100% mozzarella is used. Whole and half pizzas are offered at prices as low as $5.99 for a large pizza with cheese and one topping and $3.99 for the same half pizza. A large “La Patrona” pizza with everything is only $7.99. For more information, visit

“Pizza Patron has been named the premier distributor for the initial launch of BlagCardTM, the worlds first truly unlimited calling card to Mexico. The chain will begin retailing the cards in each of its 65 locations beginning Friday, July 27th. The new calling cards are the result of a strategic alliance between Pizza Patron Inc. and BlagPhoneTM International. All calls will be carried on the AT&T network. “This partnership means much more than just pizza and phones,” said Anthony Knape, CEO/President of BlagCard, Inc. and BlagPhone, Inc. “We get deep satisfaction and joy from participation in the vitality of the Hispanic culture, the uniting of families and the living of an unstoppable dream.”"

“Pizza Patron, the premier Latino pizza brand introduced the first Pizza Patron Rapidito concept at La Gran Plaza, in Fort Worth, Texas. The brand’s new Rapidito unit is designed specifically for malls, airports, and special venues enhancing the company’s ability to penetrate markets deeper.

La Gran Plaza is a unique mall among the first of its kind in the U.S. which caters exclusively to the Latino consumer. The mall’s architecture and atmosphere resemble that of a typical colonial city in central Mexico creating an environment that is culturally sensitive to the Hispanic family.

“La Gran Plaza was a perfect choice for us to launch our new Pizza Patron Rapidito,” said Andrew Gamm, director of Brand Development for Pizza Patron. “Many of our customers already frequent the mall, and now they can enjoy our pizza while they shop.”

The menu features three varieties of 7-inch, personal size pizzas — Queso, Pepperoni and La Patroncita (a deluxe pizza with everything). The company has maintained its strong commitment to value-pricing with the pizzas starting at $2.49 for cheese only and topping-out at $3.49 for La Patroncita. Ranch, Spicy Ranch and Salsa Ranchera dipping sauces are also available for 50í‚¢ each.

“We are very excited about our new Rapidito unit,” said Antonio Swad, founder of Pizza Patron. “It allows us to serve our core Hispanic customer a familiar product at a familar value. As our customer base grows, we need to find new ways to reach out and serve them better and Rapidito is a great example of doing just that.” “

“Pizza Patron announced that it signed local Dallas Jet Ski Racer, Freddy Vaca, for the 2007 APBA American Power Boat Association U.S. Watercross National Tour. Vaca will pilot the new “Patron Racing” Yamaha and Kawasaki race crafts powered by Judge Motor Sports, Inc., the company founded by legendary racer Tim Judge.”

“Pizza Patron, the premier Latino pizza brand, announced today its first quarter sales for this year have increased 34.8% versus the same period a year earlier. The impetus for the chain’s revenue growth is attributed to a number of strategic initiatives put in place during the previous 12 months. In 2006, the “Lista(TM)” program was implemented systemwide, offering “ready now” large 15-inch pizzas, available in pepperoni and cheese for $4.99. In January 2007, the company launched its “Pizza por Pesos(TM)” promotion which garnered international media attention and fueled intense debate on the issues surrounding illegal immigration in the U.S.

Although the corporate office was inundated with heated criticism to the pesos program, the stores experienced a heavy influx of new visitors. “Our customers love the program,” said Andrew Gamm, director of Brand Development for Pizza Patron. “Perhaps our first quarter store sales are a vindication of sorts for occupying a unique position in the marketplace and not yielding to the pressure from the opposition.”

Today, Pizza Patron operates 65 locations in the United States with aggressive expansion plans for the next 5 years. The company plans to continue growth through franchise distribution, partnering with qualified owner/operators who are committed to serving the Latino-Hispano community in their area.

“The Pizza for Pesos(TM) initiative is just one example of the things that we have done to better serve our core Hispanic customer,” said Antonio Swad, founder of Pizza Patron. “We will continue to work hard to out-position our competitors when it comes to selling pizza, and we are willing to walk that extra mile at the community level where many are not. When I step back and survey the landscape, I really like what I see. We are a 20 year old brand that is really just getting started, the future looks bright indeed.”"

“The April issue of Hispanic Business magazine features Maria Elena Lagomasino, CEO of Asset Management Advisors LLC, as the 2007 Hispanic Business Woman of the Year.

Each year, Hispanic Business magazine recognizes a select group of Hispanic women who have made a national impact by demonstrating the highest levels of achievement in their professions. This year’s recipient of the top honor, Maria Elena Lagomasino, climbed corporate ladders at Citigroup and JP Morgan before taking the helm as CEO at Asset Management Advisors LLC, a company 70% owned by Sun Trust Banks, Inc. AMA oversees more than $10 billion in assets and 200 employees spread across 11 offices.

Both sides of Ms. Lagomasino’s family fled Cuba when she was 11. They resettled in West Hartford, Connecticut, where her father, Hector, a civil engineer in Cuba, worked for air conditioner and refrigerator parts manufacturer Dunham-Bush Inc., while her mother raised six children and worked as a high school Spanish teacher to help make ends meet.

Ms. Lagomasino graduated from Manhattanville College in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in French literature and spent five years working in the United Nations’ library while earning a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University. After realizing she liked dealing with people more than handling documents, she interviewed in 1977 at Citigroup’s private bank and earned a spot as a management trainee, beginning her 30-year journey in financial services.

The April issue also highlights 19 other Elite Women, including 4 finalists, to be honored alongside Maria Elena Lagomasino for their impact in the realms of business, government, and academia at the Fifth Annual Hispanic Business Woman of the Year Awards Gala and Daytime Symposium. The event will be held Thursday, April 26th, at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

The Woman of the Year finalists include: Maria Azua, vice-president of technology and innovation at IBM; Grace Lieblein, a chief vehicle engineer for General Motors; Maria Martinez, vice-president for Microsoft’s Worldwide Services; and Carmela Castellano-Garcia, CEO of California Primary Care Association.

For more information please visit: www.hispanicbusiness.com/events/woy/.

Other featured stories in the April issue of Hispanic Business magazine include:

OCCUPYING BABY BOOMER VACANCIES: Hispanic Business reports that Hispanic women are poised to fill vacancies in high-profile management jobs created by retiring baby boomers. The oldest baby boomers began turning 60 in 2006 and by 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will reach retirement age. According to BLS figures, workforce participation by Hispanic women will rise steadily, even as rates decline for white men over the next 15 years. Writer Derek Reveron reports that companies will have no choice - hire more minorities and women to fill slots vacated by baby boomers, or face a severe worker shortage.

THE FRANCHISING PIE: More franchisers are making a push to recruit Hispanic franchisees to keep in step with the companies’ increasingly diverse customer base. But in some key franchising areas, such as lodging, Hispanics lag far behind other minority groups. Raul Fuentes, the director of emerging markets at Choice Hotels, told Hispanic Business, “Hispanics have become the largest minority group in the U.S., yet less than 1 percent own hotels in comparison to other minority groups.” But Hispanics are showing strong numbers in restaurants and janitorial services. Alex Garza tells of his franchising love affair with the Pizza Patron chain.

About Hispanic Business(R)

For over a quarter of a century, Hispanic Business Media has been the source for the latest trends, research and reporting that drive growth for Hispanic-owned companies. Hispanic Business magazine, our award-winning publication, and HispanicBusiness.com, provide readers in the United States and around the world with the most relevant and data-driven news on the U.S. Hispanic marketplace. Hispanic Business Media properties include Hispanic Business magazine, HispanicBusiness.com, Hispanic Business Events - including Hispanic Business magazine EOY(R) Awards, CEO Capital Markets Roundtable, Woman of the Year (WOY) Awards - as well as HireDiversity.com(R). HispanTelligence(R) is the research division of the company.

Hispanic Business magazine and HispanTelligence are registered trademarks of Hispanic Business Inc. 2006 Hispanic Business Inc. All rights reserved.”

“A pizza chain that attracted national attention and plenty of hate mail for its decision to temporarily accept Mexican currency said Monday it is extending its pesos policy.

Dallas-based Pizza Patron announced in January that it would accept pesos as well as U.S. currency at its 63 locations across the U.S. The “Pizza por Pesos” program — which brought death threats and hate mail to the company — was set to run through the end of February but will now continue until the end of April.”

“I like pizza and I enjoy Mexican food. I also love America.

But Pizza Patron loves money more than anything, so it is graciously accepting Mexican currency at its U.S. stores. Whether its dollars, pesos or the Euro, they all spend the same at the corporate counting house down in Dallas.”

“The collateral furor around the immigration debate shows signs of soaring into the irrational. Proof of that is the overreaction to a marketing campaign by a Southwest pizza chain.

As a wintertime promotion, Dallas-based Pizza Patron advertised that through February it would accept pesos at its cash registers. The chain serves a heavily Hispanic clientele ”” its staff and menus are bilingual. And the reasoning was that its Mexican-American and Mexican-immigrant customers might be returning from the holidays with pesos in amounts too small to be worth exchanging, but sufficient to pay for a couple of pizzas.”

“Pizza Patron, the premier Latino pizza brand, announced today that fourth quarter same-store sales rose 34.55% over the previous year, as an average for the 60 store restaurant chain.

“Our fourth quarter numbers are off the chart at more than 34%,” says Guillermo Estrada, the company’s director of business development. This increase came after the company’s third quarter same-store comparative sales increased more than 24% over the previous year. “It is a result of a number of factors,” Estrada continued. “Our Lista® (ready now) program is in full swing and our franchisees have been working very hard to improve store level operations.”

Antonio Swad, the company’s founder and president acknowledged that “these kinds of numbers are going to be hard to continue as we grow, but it speaks to the relevancy of the Pizza Patron brand. We are constantly refining our business model to find ways to better serve our core Hispanic customer. Even our very first location, which is more than 20 years old, was up more than 20 points for the quarter. Our base is growing and so are we.”

The fourth quarter sales increase came prior to the much-publicized “Pizza por Pesos(TM)” initiative, which was implemented system-wide in January.”

“Reasonable people can disagree on policy issues without vilifying one another. That is the basis of the civil discourse upon which a representative democracy relies.

Its a clear sign that civil discourse has broken down somewhat when a business receives death threats and hate mail for making the business decision of accepting a foreign currency. Thats the situation faced by Pizza Patron, a Dallas-based pizza chain with 59 restaurants across the Southwest, including five in the Rio Grande Valley.”

“The heaviest hitter on the Anti-Migrant All-Star Team, state Rep. Russell Pearce, was standing at the plate, bat in hand, and I tossed him a big fat meatball - the kind of slow, savory pitch that any bush leaguer could knock out of the ballpark.

“I havent heard much from public officials about the decision by Pizza Patron restaurants to accept pesos,” I said, telegraphing my intentions. “As one who has spoken loudly about your concerns over the incursions of Mexican language, politics, culture and more into the American mainstream, Im wondering how you feel about their money also making inroads.”"

“A Dallas-based pizza chain that has restaurants here in the Valley has been hit with death threats and hate mail after offering to accept Mexican pesos.

Pizza Patron says it wasnt trying to inject itself into a larger political debate about illegal immigration.”

“As of today, a Dallas-based chain of pizza restaurants will accept both U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos as payment. The trial program will last through February at Pizza Patron locations in five states. The company has 59 restaurants in the United States.”

“Pizza Patrón, the premier Latino pizza brand, announced today it has signed a two-year development agreement for 20 locations in Arizona with franchise group, Pizza Revolución.

Currently Pizza Revolución operates eight Pizza Patron locations in Arizona Avondale, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa and Phoenix, and will open the first of several more locations in Phoenix within the next few months. Pizza Revolución is owned and operated by the LeVecke Family, the grandchildren of Carl Karcher, founder of Carl’s Jr., who have been in business for over 5 years beginning with two Carl’s Jr. units, and has grown to 51 Carl’s Jr. units, 8 Pizza Patron, and a few convenience stores. The LeVecke Family is very dedicated to the Arizona Latino community.
“

“Pizza Patron, the premier Latino pizza brand, announced today its third quarter sales for this year have increased over 24% versus the same period a year earlier. The twenty-year old privately-held company did not provide overall sales figures, however, their revenue growth was aided by the addition of several strategic initiatives including their “Lista(R)” program which began in February, offering hot and ready large 15-inch pizzas, available in pepperoni and cheese for $4.99 in all 59 locations, and with its success prompted the development of the drive-thru Lista(R) unit which opened this September, as well as the company’s new line of Fiesta Wings(TM) as Lista(R) items.

“Pizza Patron is gaining popularity nationwide by fulfilling our motto and providing ‘Mas Pizza. Menos Dinero’ to every community we enter, and because of our dedicated focus to the Hispano-Latino community,” says director of operations Ernesto Hernandez. “We could now add ‘Menos Tiempo’ to our motto since the business is moving in a direction where it resembles the fast food industry. While maintaining our commitment to offering an affordable family meal every day, we now have our Lista(R) program which allows customers who are on the go to enjoy the same great Patron pizza they have grown to love, without waiting,” says Hernandez.

More than 65 Pizza Patron locations will be operating in the United States by the end of 2006, and another 40 are in development. As part of the expansion plans announced recently, the brand has signed a two-year development agreement for 20 locations in Arizona with franchise group, Pizza Revolucion, which is owned and operated by the LeVecke Family, the grandchildren of Carl Karcher, founder of Carl’s Jr., who currently operate eight Pizza Patron locations in the Arizona market.

Additional Lista(R) drive-thru locations are also in development, which are fully branded, and feature an expanded Lista(R) (”Ready Now”) menu for convenient ordering from the car at the drive-thru window. In addition to the chain’s Lista(R) 15-inch large pepperoni pizza, they also offer the La Patrona (deluxe pizza with everything), as well as the company’s new line of Fiesta Wings(TM) as Lista(R) items.”

“Pizza Patrón, the premier Latino pizza brand, announced today it has signed a two-year development agreement for 20 locations in Arizona with franchise group, Pizza Revolución.

Currently Pizza Revolución operates eight Pizza Patron locations in Arizona (Avondale, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa and Phoenix), and will open the first of several more locations in Phoenix within the next few months. Pizza Revolución is owned and operated by the LeVecke Family, the grandchildren of Carl Karcher, founder of Carl’s Jr., who have been in business for over 5 years beginning with two Carl’s Jr. units, and has grown to 51 Carl’s Jr. units, 8 Pizza Patron, and a few convenience stores. The LeVecke Family is very dedicated to the Arizona Latino community.”