Before the clock struck 12 midnight on New Year’s Eve, the Sbarro chain announced that with the opening of its two newest restaurants in the Philippines and in the US “show-me” state of Missouri, it has exceeded 100 new unit openings in 2022, the most in one year in the Columbus, Ohio-headquartered foodservice company’s 65-year history. In addition, other milestones marked in 2022 included opening its 200th domestic franchise operation, the debut of its 300th international franchise restaurant, 500th franchise location and the introduction of Original XL New York Pizza to customers in Poland, Georgia and Northern Macedonia.
“I am so grateful for the faith and trust of our franchisees and our corporate and field teams that have made these milestones possible,” said Sbarro CEO David Karam. “With our focus on the impulse pizza segment, we’ve been able to feature pizza by the alice and strombolis to drive customer loyalty. By honing in on our key points of differentiation, it’s opened the doors to numerous new venues for growth including military bases, theme parks, C-stores, train stations and travel centers. I’m especially proud that our openings have been so balanced worldwide with half coming in the United States and half in the now more than 25 countries we operate in.”
With the number of Sbarro restaurants in the system approaching 700, the chain anticipates the number of openings will increase in future years. “This is just the beginning for this great brand,” said Karam. “We have an incredibly strong development pipeline and we’re as excited as ever for our future.”
About the Company
In 1956, Carmela “Mama” Sbarro and her family opened the doors to their Italian delicatessen in Brooklyn. Their slices of New York-style pizza were so popular that they soon debuted a second location at the King’s Plaza Mall in New York, focused solely on pizza. More than six decades later, Sbarro now claims to be the global leader in the impulse pizza category.
