Mayor Buddy Dyer joins Marco’s leaders for ribbon cutting and ceremonial “First Slice” at the brand’s new training and operations hub

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, celebrates the opening of its Operations Center of Excellence in downtown Orlando, including a ribbon cutting and ceremonial “First Slice” with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. The center provides franchisees with a hands-on place to train and creates an operational hub that helps support systemwide growth.

Held during National Pizza Month, the celebration brought together Marco’s executives, esteemed guests, franchisees, and community leaders. The program opened with remarks from Chief Operating Officer John Meyers and a toast from President and Co-CEO Tony Libardi. Mayor Dyer and Orlando Economic Partnership President and CEO Tim Giuliani joined Marco’s leadership to cut the ribbon.

“Great brands are built by great operators. This center gives our franchisees practical, hands-on training, and stronger operational support,” said Libardi. “As Marco’s grows, that investment will help us protect consistency and improve performance across the system.”

For the “First Slice,” Mayor Dyer hand-stretched fresh dough, topped his favorite pizza, the “Mayor’s Magnifico,” and took the first bite. Guests then sampled Marco’s pizzas in celebration of the opening.

“Marco’s made a commitment to downtown Orlando earlier this year, and today we celebrated that commitment becoming a reality,” said Mayor Dyer. “The Center will bring daytime activity to downtown’s streets, with Marco’s team members supporting small businesses and also taking advantage of all that our downtown has to offer.”

Event photography can be found here (Photo credit: Studio 22 / Nick Cepeda) and b-roll footage found here.

A Hands-On Hub for Franchisee Training
The approximately 14,030-square-foot center serves as a corporate office, training destination, and operational hub. At its heart is a fully equipped training kitchen designed to replicate a Marco’s Pizza store kitchen, giving operators an immersive place to learn and practice the brand’s operating standards.

The center will host Marco’s University, which offers advanced training for franchisees, as well as Discovery Days for prospective franchisees. It will also bring franchisees, company leaders, and supply chain partners together to strengthen performance across the system.

“My career started at Walt Disney World, right here in Orlando, where I learned that great hospitality is trained,” said Meyers. “We built this center to train the way our operators actually work – in a real kitchen, at real speed. Execution is the foundation, and empowerment is what sets it apart. Situational empowerment means every team member knows what great looks like and is trusted to make the right call for the guest in front of them. When someone turns a guest’s day around, even in a small way, it shows up in loyalty, retention and sales. That’s the operator this center is built to create.”

Supporting Responsible Growth
The opening comes as Marco’s targets more than 80 new store openings in 2026. Florida is one of the brand’s largest markets, making Orlando a natural home for a center that supports franchisees across the system.

“Growth only matters if our operators are set up to perform, and this center is how we make sure they are,” said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer of Marco’s Pizza. “When prospective franchisees visit for Discovery Day, they’ll see our commitment in action, not just on paper.”

Franchise Opportunities
For entrepreneurs looking to grow with a franchise brand that prioritizes operational excellence and innovation, Marco’s offers a compelling opportunity. The company’s Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program is designed to lower barriers for qualified multi-unit operators, with early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%*, along with comprehensive support in real estate, construction, and operations.

Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as Marco’s Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.28M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2025. ** 

For more information about Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or fill out an inquiry form here.

ABOUT MARCO’S PIZZA
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco’s Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco’s was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale (“Pat”) Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Notably, Marco’s was recognized as America’s Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation’s Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2025 data^ꝉꝉ. Other recent accolades include being recognized by QSR as one of the “16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025”, ranking No. 50 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2026 “Franchise 500” ranking, earning a coveted spot as the only top 5 pizza chain to rank on Newsweek’s 2025 “America’s Best Customer Service” in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR’s Top 50, and being featured on Nation’s Restaurant News’ prestigious “Top 500” ranking. For Marco’s Pizza franchise information and opportunities please visit www.marcosfranchising.com to fill out an inquiry form. 

*The information provided in this article should not be construed as an offer to sell any Marco’s Pizza® franchises in, nor is any such communication directed to, the residents of any jurisdiction requiring registration of the franchise before it is offered and sold in that jurisdiction. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Marco’s Pizza® franchises will not be sold to any resident of such jurisdiction until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such jurisdiction and the required franchise disclosure document (if applicable) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. Additionally, the participant must meet our financial, creditworthiness, and operational criteria to qualify for the incentive program and be approved by us to open each Store. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, the qualifying participant must maintain at least 50% ownership in the entity, as well as the qualifying existing Stores, to qualify for this program, and the franchisee must comply with program requirements. In the event the participant fails at any time to meet the timelines to qualify for the applicable incentive program while developing a Store, the Store being developed and any remaining unopened Stores to be developed will pay the then-current standard Royalty Fee rate. See Marco’s Franchise Disclosure Document for more information. To qualify for the incentive program, the participant must sign a development agreement and open the stores within the following timeframes: 1^st Store within 365 days of signing; 2^nd Store within 6 months of 1^st store opening; 3^rd Store within 6 months of 2^nd store opening; 4^th Store within 6 months of 3^rd store opening; 5^th Store within 6 months of 4^th store opening.

^**Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 250 units) of Marco’s Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2025 fiscal year. Of the 997 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2025 fiscal year, 250 were included in the top 25% set and 37% obtained or surpassed the average sales volume. This information excludes (i) international locations (including Puerto Rico); (ii) Franchised Stores not open for the entire 52-week period in 2025; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2025. See Item 19 of our 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

^ꝉꝉAccording to Technomic’s 2025 America’s Favorite Restaurants data, Marco’s Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 54.6% composite top-box rating, indicating the share of recent guests who gave the brand the highest possible rating for each of the guest experience attributes. Data for America’s Favorite Chains comes from Technomic Ignite Consumer, which collects information about how brands impact consumers and how consumers interact with those brands, via online surveys. See here for more information: www.technomic.com/ignite-consumer.

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SOURCE Marco’s Pizza