TOLEDO, Ohio, April 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During the company's annual convention the week of April 7, Marco's Pizza, the country's fastest growing pizza franchise, named Bryon Stephens as President. Since starting with Marco's Pizza in 2004, Stephens has demonstrated significant success in his leadership roles as Vice President of Development, and Chief Operating Officer, a position he was promoted to in 2013.

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Stephens, who came to Marco's with much success developing YUM! Brands, Inc., and Yorkshire Global Restaurants, was the first person hired by CEO and Chairman of Marco's Pizza, Jack Butorac when Butorac bought the franchising rights in 2004. Throughout the past decade, he has helped grow the number of stores from 123 to nearly 500. By year end, Marco's Pizza is slated to have more than 600 stores in the U.S., the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Also during Stephens' tenure, system wide sales increased by nearly $180 million, unit profitability has increased, and 1,860 new stores have been signed into the system. As President, Stephens will be focused on oversight of day-to-day operations and responsibility for meeting sales, profitability and growth goals, as well as maintaining high benchmarks for product quality and customer service.  

"Bryon is a strong leader who draws his leadership strategies from the Marco's Cultural Beliefs while increasing the profitability of our franchise community," said Butorac. "During the year he served as COO, he demonstrated tremendous strength in his ability to expand our company further. It is an honor for me to appoint him as President. Our executive team and I look forward to working with Bryon in his new role and all we will accomplish under his leadership in the years to come."

Marco's Pizza has carved out a niche in the industry as experts in authentic Italian pizza, known for its fresh never-frozen dough made daily on site, a proprietary cheese blend that is fresh never frozen and a secret pizza sauce recipe. Marco's Pizza has nearly 500 units open across the country and is on track to hit the 600 mark by the end of the year, with 104 new stores opened in 2013 and 200 new stores this year. With more than 1,500 new franchise deals signed, the company is on track to quadruple its store count in the coming 5 years. As a result, Marco's Pizza has received high praise from Entrepreneur Magazine and was recently ranked No. 1 in Pizza Today's Up and Comer list.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA:

Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza (Marco's Franchising, LLC) is the fastest-growing pizza company in the U.S. (based on the number of stores signed into development since 2007). Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian born, Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making Italian Pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate more than close to 500 stores in 33 states, and the Bahamas. Marco's Pizza recently ranked 11^th place in the "2012 Pizza Industry Top 100 Movers & Shakers" by PizzaMarketPlace.com.  To inquire about franchise opportunities with Marco's Pizza visit marcosfranchising.com.