Marco's Pizza

History

Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco was born in Sulmona, Italy, and moved to the U.S. from the Abruzzo region when he was nine. He grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, where he worked at his family's pizzeria. Together with his father, he developed the sauce recipe still used at Marco's Pizza. In 2002, restaurant industry expert Jack Butorac was hired to evaluate three restaurant concepts for growth, including Marco's Pizza.

He visited five stores in different Ohio cities and noticed inconsistent branding but found the pizza quality was the same at every location, which made him see potential in the brand. Butorac started working as a consultant with Giammarco and soon negotiated to buy the franchising rights. He took over the company in January 2004 with plans to expand nationally. Expansion began in 2005, and under Butorac, the chain more than doubled, reaching over 35 states, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and India.

In July 2017, Restaurant News gave Butorac the Golden Chain award. Marco's Pizza and its president, Bryon Stephens, were featured on the January 29, 2016, episode of CBS's Undercover Boss.

In the first half of 2025, the chain opened 41 new stores. A partnership with Family Video started in 2013, putting Marco's Pizza in many Family Video locations and allowing pizza orders to be delivered with video rentals. That partnership ended when Family Video closed all its stores in 2021.

Menu

The Marco's Pizza menu is available for delivery or take-out, with some locations offering dine-in and catering. Items include pizza, subs, wings, salads, CheezyBread, CinnaSquares, pizza bowls, and co-branded Ghirardelli brownies. Specialty pizzas include White Cheezy, Chicken Florentine, Pepperoni Magnifico, Chicken Fresco, Spicy Fresco, and Double Pepperoni Spicy Fresco. The Fresco pizzas feature Marco's giardiniera, an Italian pepper relish.

Reception

In 2014, Marco's Pizza was named the #3 best pizza chain by Consumer Reports on its list of Best and Worst Fast Food Restaurants in America, its first appearance on that list. In 2016, Pizza Today ranked it #10 on its Top 100 Pizza Companies list, and Marketing Quarterly named it one of the Top 25 Pizza Chains. Franchising World placed it at number eight on its "Fast and Serious Growth Franchises" list. For 2017, Pizza Today ranked Marco's Pizza #8 on its Top 100 Pizza Chains, and Franchise Times also listed it at number eight on its Fast and Serious growth franchises list.