Noble Roman's C-store Presence on the Rise

INDIANAPOLIS -- Noble Roman's Inc., franchisor and licensor of Noble Roman's Pizza and Tuscano's Italian Style Subs, signed franchise/license agreements for 39 new non-traditional locations other than grocery stores in 2012, including 12 locations with Huck's, an Illinois-based convenience store chain with 110 stores in five states.

Twelve more agreements were signed between Jan. 1 and March 12 of this year, bringing the company to more than 1,400 locations.

"Operationally, we continued to expand our take-n-bake offering in the fourth quarter, appearing at trade shows and driving interest in both the grocery-based model and our standalone franchises," said Chairman and CEO Paul Mobley. "This progress directly led to expansions of both models during the early part of 2013, with further growth expected as we move through the year."

Noble Roman's reported it entered into agreements with seven different franchise groups for 11 standalone, take-n-bake locations. The take-n-bake program features traditional Hand-Tossed Style pizza, Deep-Dish Sicilian pizza and SuperThin pizza, along with additional menu items. Since the company introduced all these products to grocery store chains in late 2009, approximately 1,075 locations have added the program.

"Existing and potential franchisees are embracing this fastest-growing segment of the pizza industry with our high-quality, great-tasting pizza offerings adapted for the take-n-bake pizza market, and recognizing the economics of opening a smaller, more affordable and more efficient facility," Mobley relayed.

Noble Roman's currently has distribution agreements with 11 primary distributors strategically located throughout the United States, according to its news release.

"We enter 2013 with three platforms for continued growth, well positioned in the fastest growing segments of the pizza industry and supported by a well-respected national brand," Mobley concluded. "We expect relatively rapid growth from our two take-n-bake models, expanding our presence in grocery stores around the country while adding standalone locations as well."