Pizza Patrón

Pizza Patrón Inc. is a United States pizza chain headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.[1] It was founded in 1986 by Antonio Swad and Bernadette Fiaschetti. Swad sold Pizza Patrón in 2016 to Charles Loflin, the new CEO. It was formerly headquartered in Dallas.[2]

Pizza Patrón Woodlawn location in San Antonio, Texas
Pizza Patrón
IndustryRestaurants
Founded1986 (1986)
Founders
  • Antonio Swad
  • Bernadette Fiaschetti
HeadquartersSan Antonio, Texas
ProductsPizza
Websitewww.pizzapatron.com

Pizza Patrón operates locations in Arizona, California, Illinois, and Texas. Pizza Patrón withdrew operations in Colorado. The chain primarily opens locations in neighborhoods with a high proportion of Latino residents.[3] In addition to the franchise's 100 locations across the southwest United States, 40 more are currently under development.

Logo and slogan

The franchise's logo features the face of a man wearing a fedora hat. Their former logo was of the fedora hat alone. The chain's original slogan was "A Good Deal" from 1986 to 2001, and then it was ultimately changed to Más Pizza. Menos Dinero when the company started its franchising opportunities. (Spanish for "More Pizza. Less Money"). In 2017, when the company was sold, the company ultimately changed the slogan to "Pizza Like A Boss", and abandoned the "Más Pizza. Menos Dinero" slogan that was with the company for 16 years.

Founding

Pizza Patrón was founded in 1986 by Antonio Swad, of Lebanese and Italian descent. Swad is also known for founding the Wingstop brand, which was sold in 2003 to focus on growing the Pizza Patrón brand. The brand has since been sold, and Swad is now working on other restaurant ventures. Pizza Patron was also founded by Bernadette Fiaschetti, who is of Italian and Irish descent. Fiaschetti is also known for founding Wingstop. She has since moved on from restaurants, and now hosts a nationally syndicated radio show on iHeartMedia called One Life Radio.

Former corporate headquarters in Dallas

New products, promotions, and expansions

In 2006, Pizza Patrón successfully introduced new products like Patrón Dippers and Fiesta Wings, and it established its "Lista" (ready immediately) pizza program nationally. In addition, Pizza Patrón developed a dine-in store model, the Pizza Patrón Rapidito (airports/malls) model, the "Tiendita" (portable mini-store extension) and its "Lista" drive-through concept. These progressive additions to the concept were largely responsible for the 34.55% increase in business that Pizza Patrón experienced in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2006. Pizza Patron also decided to expand its online horizons by further touching base with its online presence. With the company’s online ordering becoming more prevalent, an interlacing app was released at the end of March 2020. On March 23, 2020, Pizza Patron launched its first app ever. The app brings a whole new take to the Patron company. Along with mobile ordering now being available, “Patron Perks” a reward program that uses “Slice Points” offers customers rewards and deals following their visits and restaurants.[4]

Brand Relaunch

In 2018 Pizza Patron went through a total brand relaunch. With intents of appealing to a younger consumer base; Pizza Patron swayed towards a more modern and youthful look. The transition included several different segments. One of the most notable changes of this process was the logo change. The once older Patron man logo was revamped into a more simplified version. Along with the visual transformation of the logo was the overall color pallet change. Away with the original red and black, the company shifted to a teal/mandarin red color scheme. Aside from the visual changes the company underwent, the company’s overall mission statement also transmuted. Since the start of the company, Pizza Patron was widely recognized as a Latin culture restaurant, relying heavily on the Latin consumer base. While the brand still celebrates its Latin roots, today Pizza Patron leans towards a much more inclusive “Flavor for All” motto.

Pizza por Pesos

In January 2007, Pizza Patrón announced its new "Pizza por Pesos" policy which enabled the chain's customers to pay for pizzas with Mexican pesos for a limited time. Though the company was not the first to implement such a policy in the United States, the move came at a time of increasingly heated debate over illegal immigration in the United States and caused the chain's Dallas headquarters to receive complaints and death threats, even the Swad/Fiaschetti's household in Sunnyvale, Texas was threatened by the KKK for associating with Latinos.[5] It also created publicity for the chain, garnering media attention from several outlets including Fox News, The Colbert Report, MSNBC, The Tonight Show and many more. After the first week of the promotion, one owner reported that customers had paid with about 15,000 Mexican pesos, equivalent to about US$1,400, at his two southern California locations, which accounted for roughly 20% of his profits.[6]

On May 3, 2007, the company reported that sales in the first three months of 2007 were up 35% compared to sales during the first three months of 2006. The company attributed the strong growth in sales to publicity generated by news reports about the "Pizza for Pesos" campaign and said that its policy of accepting pesos, originally scheduled to last only until the end of April, was being made permanent.[7]

"Pizza Por Favor" crowds line up for free pizza on June 6, 2012.
Pizza Patrón-branded vehicle

Pizza por Favor

On June 6, 2012, Pizza Patrón launched its "Pizza por Favor" promotion offering a free large pepperoni pizza to any customer who ordered in Spanish, by simply saying "Pizza Por Favor".

The event sparked controversy and criticism from conservative groups. The Conservative Caucus, an organization that advocates for English as the official national language of the United States, criticized “Pizza Por Favor,” and on the day in May when the promotion was announced, Pizza Patrón's email servers were maliciously hacked into. The company received international news coverage and gave away 80,000 pizzas during the one-day promotion, including 50,000 during the three-hour window it advertised plus another 30,000 in coupons for free pizzas that were given to people still waiting in line after supplies ran out and business hours had ended.[8]

See also

Notes
  1. "Contact." Pizza Patrón. Retrieved on February 12, 2018. "Pizza Patron Inc. 510 Portland Rd. San Antonio, TX 78216"
  2. "Contact Us." Pizza Patrón. Retrieved on December 30, 2011. "Pizza Patrón Inc. 10999 Petal Street Suite 200 Dallas, TX 75238"
  3. Jargon, Julie (December 30, 2010). "Pizza Chain Remixes Ads For Slice of Bicultural Pie". The Wall Street Journal. p. B1.
  4. "Pizza Patron Sees Staggering Fourth Quarter Sales". Pizza Patrón (Press release). January 22, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  5. "Pizza promotion met with death threats". The Associated Press. CNN. January 11, 2007. Archived from the original on January 25, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  6. Altman, Larry (January 16, 2007). "'Pizza por Pesos' translates into profits in Wilmington". Daily Breeze. Wilmington, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on January 18, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  7. "Despite Death Threats and National Debate Pizza Patron(R) Will Continue to Accept 'Pesos for Pizza'". Hispanic Business. March 5, 2007.
  8. "Pizza Por Pesos." Vimeo, uploaded by Pizza Patron, 22 May 2014, vimeo.com/96090213. Accessed 29 Nov. 2018.
  • Fiaschetti, Bernadette, and Antonio Swad. Interview. 4 Nov. 2018.
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