MPZ Holdings, a South Carolina-based franchisee of Marco’s Pizza, recently filed a plan review with the city of St. Petersburg for a new outpost located at 1360 34th St. N, which the company hopes to open in January 2023, according to Director of Business Development Margaret Cole.
The St. Pete location will bring MPZ’s portfolio in the region to three, as it currently operates one in Tarpon Springs with another under construction in Oldsmar.
“We’re really excited for our third location in that general area,” Cole tells What Now Tampa, “and we’re happy to keep expanding in Florida. It’s been a wild and fun adventure.”
Marco’s Pizza was founded just outside Toledo, Ohio in 1978 by Pat Giammarco, who moved to America from Sulmona, Italy when he was nine years old, according to the company’s website. It was back in Italy, however, that Giammarco “learned the importance of doing things the right way,” to “obsess over the details,” and “take pride in what you make.”
Earlier this year, Marco’s Pizza opened its 1,100th store – a footprint which spans 33 states as well as Puerto Rico and the Bahamas – and stands as America’s fifth largest pizza brand for systemwide sales.
MPZ currently operates 35 of those locations, in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.
