A local company’s new venture has been an early success no matter how you slice it.
CiaoChowCiao owners Todd Frenette and Theresa Filicetti added one of PizzaForno’s automated pizza ovens to their location at the corner of Highway 12 and Line 15 last week. It allows people to purchase pizza any day, any time, at the touch of a button. Customers punch in their order and the pizza comes out within a few minutes.
“We are absolutely over the moon with how successful it is,” Frenette said, but added he’s not surprised. “Pizza is the No. 1 food in the world and if it’s good, that just makes it better.”
The pizza ingredients are fresh, the kiosk stocked regularly, and customers can even purchase it cold to cook when they get home.
Becoming a licensee for PizzaForno has proven to be a wise decision for the couple. CiaoChowCiao, like many caterers, lost out on business when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“My wife and I decided that we needed something to protect ourselves from COVID rearing its head again,” Frenette said. “If there was another shutdown, the product would probably do even better.”
Les Tomlin, co-founder and president of PizzaForno, said the low-touch kiosks, the convenience and the quality are appealing to customers. It helps to have licensees who are well known in their communities, he added.
“Having strong licensees is a big part of our growth plan,” he said.
That plan is an ambitious one. PizzaForno was founded about two years ago. There are 20 kiosks in Ontario and the company is in the process of launching 20 more.
“Our goal is to be the largest pizza chain in North America, by number of locations, by the end of 2025,” Tomlin said, noting that goal works out to 10,000 kiosks.
If the one at CiaoChowCiao is any indication, the customers will eat it up.
“People are raving not just about the convenience, but the quality of the pizza,” Frenette said.
Current varieties available at CiaoChowCiao are pepperoni, meat lovers, Hawaiian, barbecue chicken, vegetarian, honey goat cheese, and four cheese.
Find out more about PizzaForno here.
