A new craft-your-own pizza restaurant, PizzaRev, is entering the Memphis market with three planned locations, with the first set to open in East Memphis in early December and two more on the way to Cordova early next year.
PizzaRev serves 11-inch personal pizzas with a choice of three homemade crusts, four sauces, and more than 30 toppings. Guests can order as many toppings as they want all for one price. Speed of service is key, with pizzas typically ready in just three minutes after cooking in a custom-built, 900-degree stone hearth oven.
The first PizzaRev located on Poplar Avenue near the International Paper building will bring approximately 50 new jobs to the area.
“We really like the ability to have a strong lunch there,” said franchise co-partner Robby Stewart. “The area’s daytime employment and density is just great.”
Stewart and partner Andres Bolivar own TennRev LLC, which opened its first PizzaRev location in Jackson, Tenn., earlier this year. Last year, the partners signed a deal to open 20 PizzaRev locations from Tennessee to Georgia.
The pair also shares ownership of Southern Restaurant Holdings LLC, one of the largest franchisees in the Steak ‘n Shake system, and they operate eight restaurants throughout Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, including three in Southaven and one near the Wolfchase Mall close to the site of the next PizzaRev set to open up early next year.
“We love that area. It has such great draws from a retail perspective, and it’s busy all the time,” said Stewart.
The third Memphis-area PizzaRev will be in Cordova, further south on Germantown Road at Fischer-Steel Road. The area is seeing a surge in new development with several other new restaurants opening up, including Hardee’s, Chipotle and Dunkin Donuts.
“So we hope to have one store with a strong lunch component, one store with a strong retail component, and one with a strong residential component,” explained Stewart.
He thinks PizzaRev’s fresh toppings help set the concept apart from the competition. Ingredients range from traditional favorites like pepperoni and grass-fed ground beef to premium selections including sweet fennel sausage, fresh-picked basil, arugula and cheese made with buffalo milk.
The PizzaRev on Poplar is partnering with Le Bonheur Children's Hospital for its grand opening. On opening day, PizzaRev guests will pay what they want for pizza and 100 percent of proceeds from each guest’s first pizza will benefit the hospital.
After opening the three Memphis-area PizzaRev’s, Stewart expects to enter the Nashville and Murpheesboro markets.
Founded in 2012, PizzaRev currently operates 46 locations with 150 additional franchises in development.
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