TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shortly after being recognized as a Top 5 Fastest Growing Chain by Nation’s Restaurant News, Marco’s Pizza CEO Jack Butorac has been chosen as a 2017 recipient of NRN’s Golden Chain Award. Celebrating the best in the restaurant business, the Golden Chain Awards recognize restaurant executives for outstanding leadership, strong company performance, career achievements, and contributions to the industry and communities served.
An industry veteran with more than 40 years’ experience turning high-quality local restaurant concepts into thriving national brands, Butorac will be honored during the annual Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference (MUFSO) held October 1 – 3 at the Hyatt Regency Reunion in Dallas.
Butorac started his restaurant industry career as a trainee manager for Zapata’s, a small group of Mexican fast food stores. Quickly advancing to Director of Operations, Butorac became responsible for packaging Zapata’s for national expansion. Known for his expertise in building systems designed to help brands grow nationally, Butorac was sought out by Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurants, Fuddruckers and other concepts. Since partnering with Marco’s Pizza in 2005, the brand has tripled in size and grown to more than 800 stores in more than 30 states, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and India.
“While it’s an honor to be chosen a Golden Chain Award recipient among some great industry leaders who have inspired me, the accomplishments with all the brands I’ve been involved with were a group effort,” Butorac said. “At Marco’s, the credit goes to our founder Pat Giammarco, who had the original vision to bring authentic Italian pizza to the United States. The success and growth of the brand is a collective effort of our incredible executive leadership team headed by Bryon Stephens, our committed corporate staff, all of our franchisees and employees at the store level who deliver on our brand promise each and every day.”
Outside of Marco’s Pizza’s exponential growth, a paramount achievement for Butorac is the strong company culture built throughout the franchise, noted Marco’s President Bryon Stephens.
“Jack has laid a positive and motivating foundation for the brand since 2004, curating an atmosphere that is open; where people listen, challenge, and build each other up to inspire new ideas,” Stephens said. “Implementing a culture of accountability, Jack’s leadership inspires all employees to personally choose to rise above the circumstances and demonstrate ownership necessary to achieve key results.”
Opening a new store on average every three days, Marco’s Pizza is on track to add over 100 new locations this year and aims to have 1,500 locations open by 2020. As the only national franchise chain founded by a native Italian, Marco’s Pizza has carved out a niche in the industry as the expert in authentic Italian pizza, known for its fresh never-frozen dough made daily on site, a proprietary cheese blend that is fresh never-frozen and a secret pizza sauce recipe.
ABOUT MARCO’S PIZZA:
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco’s Pizza was named America’s Favorite Pizza Company this year, and is the fastest-growing pizza company in the United States. Marco’s was founded in 1978 by Italian born, Pasquale (“Pat”) Giammarco and thrives by making Italian Pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate more than 800 stores in over 30 states and four countries. Most recently, Marco’s Pizza was ranked by consumers as America’s Favorite Pizza Chain through Market Force Information surveys. Other recent accolades include landing No.38 on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list, No. 2 on Forbes’ Top 10 Franchises to Invest In in the medium investment range, No. 3 on the Military Times Best For Vets list and No. 4 on the Franchise Times Fast and Serious list. For more information on Marco’s Pizza franchising opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 800-836-2074.
