THE COLONY, Texas, Oct. 13, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dallas-based Pizza Inn (Nasdaq:PZZI) will officially open its new full service prototype at the corner of Carroll Boulevard and University Drive in Denton, TX on Saturday, October 18 with a "Pizza-Cutting Ceremony" (in lieu of the traditional ribbon cutting) beginning at 11:30 a.m. The opening of this store is the culmination of a year of "wins" for Pizza Inn, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Pizza Inn President and Chief Executive Officer Charlie Morrison said, "This prototype is the future of Pizza Inn. It showcases our commitment to quality and family, as we reconnect to the best parts of our 50 year history."
Pizza Inn officials see this new store as the next step in the turnaround of the brand. The company has posted five consecutive quarters of same store sales increases in addition to significant improvement in net revenue and income.
Pizza Inn's brand icon JoJo The Pizza Man was a prominent feature in the chain's early history and will be a major part of the grand opening ceremony.
The grand opening festivities will include a daredevil stunt by JoJo, who will jump 50 thin crust pizzas on a motorcycle. Previous to the grand opening events, JoJo will make appearances at events and venues all over Denton as a part of a promotion for the pizza chain to drive traffic to the festivities. The event will also include fun activities for families including "pizza bingo"; free food sampling; face painting and balloon animals for children.
The new restaurant will offer dine in, buffet, to go and delivery services and will serve the chain's traditional thin and thick crust pizzas as well as wings, pasta, sandwiches and salads.
For more information about the grand opening event and promotions leading up to the festivities, contact Germaine A. Williams at 214-741-.2100 x223.
Pizza Inn is actively seeking new franchisees for both international and domestic development. To learn more about these opportunities, go to www.pizzainn.com for details and contact information.
Certain statements in this press release, other than historical information, may be considered forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or expected. Among the key factors that may have a direct bearing on Pizza Inn's operating results, performance or financial condition are its ability to implement its growth strategies; success of its franchise operations; national, regional and local economic conditions affecting the restaurant industry; competition within the restaurant industry; restaurant sales cannibalization; negative publicity; fluctuations in quarterly results of operations, including seasonality; government regulations; weather; and commodity, insurance and labor costs.
Pizza Inn, Inc. (www.pizzainn.com) is headquartered in The Colony, Texas, along with its distribution division, Norco Restaurant Services Company. The Company is a franchisor and food and supply distributor to a system of franchised and company owned restaurants operating both domestically and internationally under the trade name "Pizza Inn."
The Pizza Inn logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4933