Kamiar’s Beginnings
In 1986, my father co-founded Pizza Guys and I’ve been around the business ever since I could reach over the store counters. Fast forward to 65 locations later, and I began working at one of our corporate locations while attending college at Sacramento State. I was trained by one of our best managers in the company, Vi. There, I learned all about the art of running a successful operation. His formula was simple- nurture happy employees, maintain laser focus on the variable costs, all while providing exceptional customer service. After college, I was promoted as a manager and was given my first task to head up a location that needed help. From my experiences, my training with my father, and Vi, I had the groundwork for success instilled in me. These lessons helped me a few years later, when I had the opportunity to purchase a location for myself. I implemented the same mentality as I was taught before- nurture happy employees, maintain laser focus on the variable costs, all while providing exceptional customer service.
Kamiar’s Role
My role as VP of Innovation at Pizza Guys holds tremendous significance to me. It represents the culmination of years of hard work and a deep-rooted connection to the brand. I watched my father and our team grow the business to what it is today. This year, we’ve been able to add some exciting additions to Pizza Guys’ kitchens with virtual brand options, Calzone life and Pizza Piatta. These virtual brands will help Pizza Guys attract new customers, expand customer bases for existing and future franchisees, and create a platform for the development of new tasty menu items.
Breaking Barriers with Pizza Guys
Our first location opened in Sacramento in 1986. Since then, we have expanded to 3 states (California, Nevada, and Oregon) and are hoping to develop in Texas soon most of which are owned by franchisees. All of this was accomplished without private equity or stocks, an extremely difficult undertaking. With our nimble corporate structure, still family run and owned, we are able to pivot and make decisions quickly when needed. Our “shareholders” are our customers and our franchisees, and providing the best quality is of upmost importance to us and one of our guiding pillars for success.
We source locally grown ingredients and focus on clean label items. We focus on always providing a smile to our customers and do our best in getting involved in every community where our stores are located. These are just some things that set us apart. Another unique advantage for us is our ability to be collaborative with our franchisees. We truly listen, which has created some of our best recipes, procedures, and other successful operations which can quickly get implemented to all locations.
Pizza Guys’ Recent Success
Before the pandemic, I had my eyes set on the growth of virtual brands and I always thought we could launch one within Pizza Guys. Leveraging on the demand of 3rd party delivery partners and “one click ordering” customers now expect, we aimed to enter this market using our existing locations and distribution channels. The pandemic hit and it was a clear opportunity to provide customers with new options using our existing business model. After many R&D sessions with our team, it was clear that our ability to execute would be dependent on using existing ingredients, readily available to us in the stores. We created a unique menu offering of calzones, something no one else was doing at the time. I wanted this brand to be different. On these platforms you only have a few ways to stand out- unique food offerings highlighted by beautiful photography. We launched our new brand in one location, listened to the feedback, went back to the drawing board, then launched to 3 locations and then tweaked it some more. That was the birth of Calzone life and with its success, it is now live in over 55 Pizza Guys locations. We used the 95% of the same ingredients, but created new menu items that were easily recognizable. Customers loved these new offerings and it has also helped boost the bottom line for franchisees as well.
As I continue to work with the brand, I am committed to preserving its core values and traditions while also driving innovation and growth. I aim to further solidify Pizza Guys’ position as an innovator in the take-out and delivery space by continuously improving our offerings, expanding our reach, and enhancing customer experiences. I want to ensure that Pizza Guys remains a beloved household name, evoking the same nostalgia and loyalty that it has always held for me.