Marco's Pizza Recognized Among QSR Magazine's Best Franchise Deals for 2025
Industry-leading foodservice publication spotlights Marco's Pizza as a top opportunity for growth-minded franchisees
TOLEDO, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, announces it has been recognized by QSR magazine, the authority on the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industry, as one of its "16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025."
Published by WTWH Media, this annual ranking has been identifying standout brands since 2011, making it one of the industry's most established and credible franchise opportunity reports. The Best Franchise Deals feature has become a go-to guide for entrepreneurs and investors looking to enter or expand within the quick-service and fast-casual category. Selection is based on a range of criteria including franchise costs, growth potential, operator support, and brand differentiation.
"Franchise opportunities are more competitive than ever, and the brands that stand out are those that combine innovation, support, and financial upside," said Danny Klein, Vice President, Food, Retail, Hospitality Editorial Director at QSR Magazine. "Our Best Franchise Deals list for 2025 shines a spotlight on companies like Marco's, which represent some of the most exciting opportunities in the marketplace right now."
Marco's inclusion underscores its strong franchisee support system, operational model, commitment to quality and innovation, and consistent sales performance as reported in its Franchise Disclosure Document. With more than 1,200 locations and ambitious growth plans, the brand continues to build momentum in an increasingly competitive market.
"We are honored to be named among QSR's Best Franchise Deals for 2025," said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer of Marco's Pizza. "This recognition validates our franchise model and the dedication of our operators nationwide. As we continue to scale, our focus remains on supporting our franchise owners with innovative technology, operational excellence, and growth-forward programs."
This recognition builds on Marco's recent win of FRANdata's 2025 TopScore FUND Award in the food category, which underscores the brand's commitment to franchisee growth and greater access to financing.
Looking ahead, Marco's is focusing on strategic multi-unit expansion in the Midwest, East Coast, and Sun Belt, as well as growth in non-traditional venues and the international market. Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as Marco's Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.3M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2024.*
To further support brand growth and franchise expansion, Marco's recently launched a Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program designed to reduce barriers for qualified multi-unit owners. With early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%**, plus real estate, construction, and operations support, the brand offers a streamlined, resource-rich path to growth. Existing franchisees continue to grow with the brand, with 65% of 2024 franchise agreements awarded to existing franchisees.
Methodology
QSR magazine's Best Franchise Deals for 2025 were selected from a nomination process that ran from mid-May to mid-June. Finalists were reviewed by the Franchise Council, which selected their top choices from shared information and FDD data. Their top choices comprise the final list. Brands cannot appear for back-to-back years, but can return after a year off. In addition, the program recognizes rising franchisors on the outside looking in, and features a Hall of Fame category for concepts that have been included several times.
For more information Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Beth Heminger at bheminger@marcos.com or 419-279-5795.
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. Most recently, Marco's was recognized as America's Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation's Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2024 dataꝉꝉ. Other recent accolades include being recognized by QSR as one of the "16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025", ranking No. 48 on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2024 "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.
About QSR Magazine
For more than 25 years, QSR Magazine has been the leading voice of the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industry. With award-winning reporting, data-driven insights, and authoritative rankings, QSR provides franchisees, operators, and marketers with the intelligence needed to succeed in a dynamic $350 billion industry. Visitwww.qsrmagazine.com for the latest industry news and analysis.
About WTWH Media, LLC
WTWH Media is an award-winning, digital-first B2B media and marketing company that connects brand marketers with targeted, hard-to-reach audiences of executives and industry practitioners. The company serves three core industry verticals: Engineering, Healthcare and Life Sciences, and Foodservice, Retail, and Hospitality. For more information, visitwww.wtwhmedia.com.
*Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 239 units) of Marco's Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2024 fiscal year. Of the 955 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2024 fiscal year, 239 were included in the top 25% set and 40% 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 2024; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2024. See Item 19 of our 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.
**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 Franchising'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: 1st Store within 365 days of signing; 2nd Store within 6 months of 1st store opening; 3rd Store within 6 months of 2nd store opening; 4th Store within 6 months of 3rd store opening; 5th Store within 6 months of 4th store opening.
ꝉꝉAccording to Technomic's 2024 America's Favorite Restaurants data, Marco's Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 53.4% 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