Fast-casual pizza franchise to open two locations in Grand Junction

St. Petersburg, Fl. – Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, a fast-casual pizza franchise based in St. Petersburg, FL., is expanding to Grand Junction, Colorado, with two new stores planned to open in 2019. Grand Junction residents, Bob and Cecily Marolf, are the newest franchise owners.

The Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza brand has quickly expanded following the success of its first franchise location, which opened in Ames, Iowa, in the summer of 2017. In addition to the Grand Junction expansion, the company recently announced three new locations will be opening in the greater Denver area.
“We believe Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza is perfect for the Grand Junction community,” said Bob Marolf. “Our local community wants natural, high-quality food, and that is exactly what this brand will produce.”
For the Marolfs, the main attraction to Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza was how well the brand’s mission, which boasts made from scratch, fresh ingredients, aligned with the Grand Junction community.
“We have pizza here, but we don’t have fresh, wood-fired pizza, and Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza will be the first of its kind in the area,” said Marolf.
The excitement that the Marolfs have for the brand was echoed by Matt Mongoven, Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza’s Chief Executive Officer.
“I am impressed with the amount of research the Marolfs put into their decision and how our unique Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza brand will fit into the Grand Junction lifestyle,” said Mongoven. “Grand Junction is known for its healthy, outdoor community and a meal at Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza will be a terrific way to refuel after biking, hiking, skiing or enjoying any of the many other outdoor activities that the area has to offer. We hope to add an active pizza culture to this already active community.”
According to the Marolfs, they chose to franchise with Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza after extensive research into several franchise opportunities, and they found Smokin’ Oak to be head-and-shoulders above the competition.
“In our decision making process, there were several key components of the business model that we were looking for that determined our direction, including a concept and product that would drive strong consumer demand and that we could be proud of. It was also important to have a profitability level that would enable us to achieve our financial goals and a business model with well-established processes, procedures and systems in place that provide a good work/life balance,” said Marolf. “It was equally important that the franchise support team clearly demonstrate that our success was their priority. With Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, all of those boxes were checked!”.
Marolf added, “From start to finish, the Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza team demonstrated their experience and deep commitment to being the best, and the quality of the food and operating system clearly reflect this. We love the fact that Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza is devoted to using fresh, never frozen ingredients. We plan to incorporate local ingredients and products – from produce to craft beers and wine – into our menu.”
In an expanding fast-casual marketplace, Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza prides itself on the things that set it apart from other concepts – always fresh ingredients, wood-fired cooking and providing an exceptional guest experience. “Pizza baked in a wood fired oven is uniquely different and unmatched by any other baking method. Freshness is important to how consumers approach food, and we are proud of the fact that everything we have in our restaurant is fresh and that our franchisees are able to deliver high quality food at a reasonable price,” said Linda Black, President of Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza and founder of the original restaurant. “Our guests can get a phenomenal wood-fired pizza and a soda and be in-and-out in 10 to 15 minutes. Or, if you want to enjoy a beer or glass of wine and hang out with your friends and family you can do that too. At Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, we allow our guests to dictate the pace,” added Black.
For more information on Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, please visit: www.smokinoakpizza.com.
This piece can be found at the Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza website.