Round Table Pizza

Round Table Pizza is a chain of pizza parlors in the western United States. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.[2]

Round Table Pizza
Subsidiary
Founded1959 (1959)
Menlo Park, California, United States
FounderWilliam R. Larson
Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia
,
United States
Number of locations
400+
Key people
Paul Damico (CEO)
ProductsPizza, chicken wings, salads
ParentGlobal Franchise Group
Websitewww.roundtablepizza.com

History

In 1959, William R. Larson founded Round Table Pizza in Menlo Park, California.[3]

In 1961, a friend of Larson's drew some sketches of members of King Arthur's court eating pizza, and Mr. Larson then adopted the King Arthur theme for his restaurants.[4] The three banners in the official logo were added in 1970, and are intended to symbolize the letters "F-U-N."[4] Round Table Pizza began to expand through franchising.[5]

Larson sold a portion of Round Table stock to a group of investors in 1979. The investors formed an employee stock ownership plan in 1985 and, by 1992, Round Table Pizza was wholly employee owned.[6]

Mr. Larson sold about 75 percent of the private franchise corporation to partners in 1978. ... Five years ago, (1995) the controlling partners bought out Mr. Larson's remaining 25 percent.[1]

From around 2003 until 2005, Round Table Pizza's official mascots were two puppets, Matt and Marcus, who appeared in the company's television commercials.[7] In 2007, Round Table Pizza's mascot became the Pizza Knight, "defender of family night."[8] Since that time, other spokespersons have been featured, including Billy Gardell. Currently, the company features product images in its video commercials that emphasize the quality and freshness of its ingredients. Round Table's signature tagline, "The Last Honest Pizza", describes its commitment to quality and authenticity.

In 2011, the company filed for protection under Chapter 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and emerged from bankruptcy the same year.[9] The Consensual Plan of Reorganization provides for 100 percent repayment of obligations to its secured and unsecured creditors and for its employee owners to retain 100 percent ownership of the company. Since then, the company met all obligations and its financial strength steadily improved with the retirement of debt and the increase in cash flow.[10]

In 2014, the company signed a 35-store development agreement to build restaurants in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.[11]

As of 2016, there were more than 450 franchised and company-owned locations, in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.[12] Round Table Pizza now has seven branches in Dubai and additional locations in Bahrain and Mongolia .

Between 2011 and 2016, same-store sales have increased quarterly for both franchise and company-operated restaurants, exceeding overall pizza industry performance. Its success is attributed to a variety of factors including new product introductions, online ordering implementation, aggressive employee development programs, and effective local store marketing techniques. Round Table Pizza is known for strong community involvement and currently has a system-wide partnership with Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The company currently operates two formats. Traditional Round Table Pizza restaurants serve primarily pizza, salads and beverages. A new format, Round Table Pizza Clubhouse - Pizza Pub Play features expanded entertainment with arcade games for children and big-screen TVs with sports programming as well as an expanded menu and craft beer selection.[13]

On September 15, 2017, Round Table Pizza announced that it was acquired by Global Franchise Group.[14]

In 2019, Round Table Pizza unveiled its major rebrand for its 60th anniversary including the new logo and a new motto "Pizza Royalty". The chain also expanded to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for the first time in 2019 with new locations in Frisco and near the SMU campus in University Park.[15]

See also

References
  1. Anne H. Kim, "Did you know that Round Table Pizza started in Menlo?", The Almanac, Menlo Park, CA, January 26, 2000.
  2. "Round Table Pizza, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  3. Raskin-Zrihen, Rachel (November 25, 2016). "Round Table's new concept eatery opens in Vallejo". mercurynews.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  4. Company website. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
  5. "Obituaries: Bill Larson, 73, founder of Round Table chain of pizza parlors," Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2006, page B8
  6. "Bill Larson, founder of Round Table Pizza, dead at 73". pizzamarketplace.com. November 16, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  7. Company website. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
  8. Gianatasio, David (September 13, 2007). "Hungry peasants bow down to Pizza Knight". Adweek. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  9. "Round Table Pizza Chapter 11 Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. PacerMonitor. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  10. Ross, Andrew S. (December 22, 2011). "Round Table Pizza's supreme turnaround". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  11. "Round Table Pizza Expands into Bahrain with five country Development Agreement". Nations Restaurant News. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  12. "Round Table Pizza to open in Camas". Camas-Washougal Post-Record. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  13. "Round Table's New "Clubhouse" Concept Serving Up Sizzling Sales". RestaurantNews.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  14. Maze, Jonathan (15 September 2017). "Great American Cookies owner buys Round Table Pizza". Nation's Restaurant News.
  15. Gubbins, Teresa (29 April 2019). "California restaurant chain Round Table orders up pizzas for SMU Dallas".
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