Pieology Pizzeria is a

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, United States, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city does not include the unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated communit ...

-based pizza chain within the fast-casual dining restaurants category. Founded in 2011 by Carl Chang, the brother of former tennis player

Michael Chang Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked world No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1996. Chang is the youngest man in history to win a singl ...

, Pieology's mission is to "turn one of America's favorite food into an affordable and interactive experience". Pieology's main rivals are Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza. By October 2018, Pieology had a single unit in Mexico plus approximately 140 units in 23 American states and territories with more than half of those restaurants located in the state of California.

Concept

Similar to their competitors, Pieology offers individual, artisan style pizzas, which are baked in a high-temperature open-flame oven. Customers begin by choosing which of the ingredients they'd like on their pizza pie. As customers work their way down the service line, staff assemble a pizza based on customer instructions. When they arrive at the end of the line, their custom-built pizza is ready to be cooked. Pieology offers several signature pizzas, as well as "build your own" custom pizzas. In addition, their menu includes salads and desserts. Each Pieology restaurant is meant to be an "environment that reatesinspiration", with a quote board in every store that features inspirational quotes.

History

The first Pieology was opened in March 2011 in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

, just a few blocks away from the campus of

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

, by partners Carl Chang and James Markham. During its first few months of operation, the business was known as Pie-ology Pizzeria. Chang and Markham were previously involved with the development of MOD Pizza. Markham left the partnership the following year. After the success of the first location, a second location was opened in nearby Irvine (near the campus of

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

) in November 2012. For the first few years, initial growth was restricted to company-owned locations in Southern California. In September 2014, Pieology expanded into the state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, opening a location in

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

with the assistance of

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Matt Kalil as the local franchise owner. During the same month, Pieology expanded into the state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, opening a location in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. By October 2014, the company had 35 units in eight states. In 2015, Pieology was the fastest growing restaurant chain in America, according to data from Technomic. In March 2016, Pieology expanded into the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, opening a location in Aina Haina with the help of franchise partner Cotti Foods. In May 2016, Pieology opened its first location outside the continental United States in the city of

Tamuning Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon (), is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village of Tamuning is the economic center of Guam, containing tourist center Tumon, Harmon Industrial Park, ...

in the American territory of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

with the help of a local franchise partner. In 2016, Pieology received an investment from Andrew and Peggy Cherng, the founders of Panda Restaurant Group. Later in that year, Pieology acquired one of its rivals, Project Pie.

International expansion

Mexico

In January 2018, Pieology opened their first location outside of the United States in the Polanco neighborhood of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

with the help of Mexican franchise partner OPFRA S.A. de C.V. A third location in Mexico opened in September 2019 near Anahuac University in Mexico City.

Spain

In March 2018, Pieology announced plans to expand into Spain with a focus towards a franchise model via a licensing agreement with the Comess Group. The first Spanish restaurant opened in Madrid in September 2018.

China

In July 2020, Pieology opened their first Chinese location in Shanghai via a franchise agreement with TZG Partners.

Canada

In February 2016, the company announced plans to open locations in Canada. , no franchise partner has step forward to make these plans a reality.

United Kingdom

In July 2021, Camyabco Ltd. signed an agreement with the company to open its first U.K. location in London.

References

{{Pizza chains 2011 establishments in California American companies established in 2011 Companies based in California Fast casual restaurants Pizza chains of the United States Pizza franchises Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 2011