Development Undaunted, Stories from the Front

Development Undaunted, Stories from the Front Stoner’s Pizza Joint

Stoked for Growth

South Florida-based franchisee John Stetson opened his first Stoner’s Pizza Joint unit in the Fort Lauderdale market last November. By mid-March, as pandemic-related closures hit, he had opened two more. “I was just praying that they wouldn’t shut down delivery and carryout, and they didn’t,” Stetson says. “As other restaurants closed, my competition went down significantly, and I saw it as an opportunity to grow, to get aggressive. I signed a three-unit deal to expand in Georgia and expect to open the third of those in July. I also just signed another lease for a fourth Georgia unit that will open later this summer. In April and May, I saw a roughly 20% increase in gross sales.”

A delivery- and takeout-focused concept — pre-pandemic, 20% to 25% of Stetson’s sales came from dine-in business — Stoner’s taps second-gen, in-line locations of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. It’s a real estate model that Stetson says helps keep development costs and risks low and that has enabled him to expand rapidly. “I don’t want to take on a big construction or development project,” he notes. “Those timelines and budgets are never in line, so I look for preexisting restaurants that have closed.”

Going forward, it’s also a model that Stetson expects to work in his favor for continued expansion. “I’m looking to do more units in South Florida, but I’m waiting patiently to see where the market is headed and who is going to open back up,” he says. “It’s sad, but you just can’t operate at 50% in this business, and a lot of dine-in brands that have tried to pivot to carryout and delivery aren’t making it. I think when the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] support runs out, there will be a lot of vacancies out there. I’d anticipate some pretty good deals on real estate and leases. It’s been a crazy few months, but I’ve never been more excited to expand.”

Companywide, Charleston, S.C.-based Stoner’s reports it has letters of intent to expand its franchisee footprint into Kentucky and central Florida over the next few months. By year’s end, its total unit count is expected to grow from 13 to 25.

Sourced From: https://rddmag.com/development/3164-development-undaunted-stories-from-the-front