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We were ranked No. 4 among pizza franchises and rose 12 spots in the overall listing in one of franchising’s most prestigious rankings

Mountain Mike’s moved up 12 spots to No. 142 in Entrepreneur’s annual Franchise 500, a prestigious annual ranking of franchise opportunities that measures brands on criteria including growth, financial strength, stability and brand power. We ranked 4th among all pizza franchises.

Mountain Mike’s is a California-based, 200+unit franchise that’s been in business for over 40 years and is in an excellent position to grow in the booming $46 billion pizza industry. We’re hoping to grow our franchise by another 100 units over the next five years.

The Franchise 500 ranking

Entrepreneur magazine’s 42nd annual Franchise 500 ranking looked at over 1,000 franchise brands and evaluated them on 150+ criteria such as costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, financial strength and stability. Each franchise earns a cumulative score that is used to determine the ranking order.

This year, Entrepreneur noted that franchises must be especially adept at providing what the market demand in order to be successful. “Businesses of all types, of course, are designed to serve consumers’ wants or needs,” the magazine writes. “But franchising does it in a particularly stark way. A franchise brand must be exceptionally clear-eyed and mission-focused; it must develop a system so crisp and efficient that it can be replicated tens or hundreds or thousands of times. Therefore, a franchise must truly stake its ground: Its purpose is to either fulfill a want or be there in times of need.”

While there were fewer food franchises on the ranking this year, Entrepreneur noted that “People will always desire good food.” In addition, as long as a franchise like Mountain Mike’s remains committed to consistency and excellence, and is willing to change with the times, they can be successful.

Why we stand out

We’ve built a thriving business in smaller towns where other franchise chains struggle to compete, and we’ve done so by offering a higher quality product and an extraordinary customer experience.

Mountain Mike’s serves “Pizza the way it oughta be®” — a catchphrase based not only on the quality of our product but on the value we add to our communities. We offer party rooms, beer and wine, big-screen TVs and arcade games for the kids.

Other pizza franchises are concentrating on delivery and carry-out, but about a third of our sales comes from dine-in. People don’t go to Papa John’s or Domino’s to watch the big game. But they do go to Mountain Mike’s. They go for the strong bonding over pizza and sports. They go for the family-friendly experience. And they come back again and again.

Since being acquired by new ownership in 2017, we’ve almost doubled the average yearly growth rate in units. We’re on track to rise from one of the Top 20 largest U.S. pizza franchises to one of the Top 10.