DETROIT — The Original Detroit-Style Pizza purveyor, Buddy’s Pizza, is ready to take a bite out of new markets thanks to the announcement of its new Chief Executive Officer, restaurant industry veteran and former Nando’s U.S. CEO, Burton Heiss. The pizza brand has been steadily leveraging an exciting development strategy since early 2019, when restaurant financier and private equity firm CapitalSpring acquired a majority stake in Buddy’s Pizza. Heiss will take over the reins from former acting CEO, Jim Balis, who remains the Head of CapitalSpring’s Strategic Operations Group.
In the last year, CapitalSpring has laid the groundwork for continued growth for Buddy’s Pizza, including introducing back-of-house technology, a new point-of-sale (POS) system and even delivery. The originally-12-unit Detroit-based pizza chain further innovated thanks to CapitalSpring, launching its 13th location as a nontraditional spot to grab a slice in none other than the Detroit Zoo. Other locations include Michigan’s Grand Rapids as well as downtown Detroit. With momentum building in recent months, CapitalSpring knew it was time to bring on Heiss.
Heiss worked for half a decade as Vice President for Baja Fresh—a role in which he said he learned how to grow a team and scale operations—before serving as the CEO for the U.S. arm of peri-peri chicken chain, Nando’s, for eight years.
“It was definitely a challenge at the time, because here we were trying to grow Portuguese-South African fast casual fare in the U.S. market,” said Heiss. “But we did it. By the time I left, we’d grown the footprint from two to 40-plus locations.”
Heiss said he was drawn to Buddy’s thanks to “the brand’s palpable realness” and the opportunity to lead the beloved pizza concept into a new phase of growth and development.
“ How do you protect the brand and guard against losing its essence, yet scale and grow into new markets and new opportunities?” Heiss said. “That was much like what I navigated at Nando’s—and that, to me, was incredibly challenging yet also incredibly fulfilling. I see that same opportunity with Buddy’s.”
As of the end of August 2019, Buddy’s stood at 15 total locations, all presently corporate-owned. CapitalSpring has been at the helm for the preceding 18 months and, Heiss said, has focused on optimizing the partnership and fostering exceptional collaboration.
“The CapitalSpring team has a lot of experience in the space. I think they will stay closely involved and continue to offer insight,” Heiss said.
So what’s next for the Motor City pizza brand?
“We’re committed to focusing on what makes Buddy’s special and leaning into that,” Heiss emphasized. “We’re all about Original Detroit-Style Pizza and how can we introduce more people to what we feel is a spectacular brand. I don’t see any limits to what we can do and where we can take Buddy’s. Again, because of our exceptional core product and our verifiable provenance around Detroit-style pizza, it’s about how can we grow thoughtfully and with purpose.”
Heiss said that, under his leadership, the brand will continue to expand in Michigan while exploring similar markets in the Midwest.
“It’s all part of our plan to take Detroit-style pizza nationwide,” said Heiss. “We’re already on our way.”
ABOUT CAPITALSPRING
Since its founding in 2005 as a source of structured financing to franchisees, CapitalSpring has been focused on providing creative capital solutions to the branded restaurant industry. Now, with over $1.5 billion invested in more than 60 brands across North America, CapitalSpring has become one of the most active institutional investors in the restaurant sector. While the firm’s strategy has broadened and capital base has grown, CapitalSpring remains exclusively dedicated to restaurant investing.
ABOUT BUDDY’S PIZZA
In 1946, Buddy’s Pizza became the birthplace of the Original Detroit-Style Pizza. For more than seven decades, the restaurant has been feeding patrons and earning accolades from fans across the nation, including recognition from CBS This Morning, USA Today, Zagat, Food Network, Pizza Today, Eater, Travel Channel, and more. Consistently voted Detroit’s number one pizza locally, regionally and nationally, the Farmington Hills-based restaurant remains true to its Detroit roots, legacy and traditions that began on the corner of Six Mile and Conant years ago. For more information, visit www.buddyspizza.com or connect with Buddy’s on Facebook (www.facebook.com/buddyspizza), Twitter (@BuddysPizza) and Instagram (@BuddysPizzaDET).
CapitalSpring
SPONSORED
Heiss Will Replace Buddy’s Former Acting CEO, Jim Balis, of Backing Private Equity Group, CapitalSpring
DETROIT — The Original Detroit-Style Pizza purveyor, Buddy’s Pizza, is ready to take a bite out of new markets thanks to the announcement of its new Chief Executive Officer, restaurant industry veteran and former Nando’s U.S. CEO, Burton Heiss. The pizza brand has been steadily leveraging an exciting development strategy since early 2019, when restaurant financier and private equity firm CapitalSpring acquired a majority stake in Buddy’s Pizza. Heiss will take over the reins from former acting CEO, Jim Balis, who remains the Head of CapitalSpring’s Strategic Operations Group.
In the last year, CapitalSpring has laid the groundwork for continued growth for Buddy’s Pizza, including introducing back-of-house technology, a new point-of-sale (POS) system and even delivery. The originally-12-unit Detroit-based pizza chain further innovated thanks to CapitalSpring, launching its 13th location as a nontraditional spot to grab a slice in none other than the Detroit Zoo. Other locations include Michigan’s Grand Rapids as well as downtown Detroit. With momentum building in recent months, CapitalSpring knew it was time to bring on Heiss.
Heiss worked for half a decade as Vice President for Baja Fresh—a role in which he said he learned how to grow a team and scale operations—before serving as the CEO for the U.S. arm of peri-peri chicken chain, Nando’s, for eight years.
“It was definitely a challenge at the time, because here we were trying to grow Portuguese-South African fast casual fare in the U.S. market,” said Heiss. “But we did it. By the time I left, we’d grown the footprint from two to 40-plus locations.”
Heiss said he was drawn to Buddy’s thanks to “the brand’s palpable realness” and the opportunity to lead the beloved pizza concept into a new phase of growth and development.
“ How do you protect the brand and guard against losing its essence, yet scale and grow into new markets and new opportunities?” Heiss said. “That was much like what I navigated at Nando’s—and that, to me, was incredibly challenging yet also incredibly fulfilling. I see that same opportunity with Buddy’s.”
As of the end of August 2019, Buddy’s stood at 15 total locations, all presently corporate-owned. CapitalSpring has been at the helm for the preceding 18 months and, Heiss said, has focused on optimizing the partnership and fostering exceptional collaboration.
“The CapitalSpring team has a lot of experience in the space. I think they will stay closely involved and continue to offer insight,” Heiss said.
So what’s next for the Motor City pizza brand?
“We’re committed to focusing on what makes Buddy’s special and leaning into that,” Heiss emphasized. “We’re all about Original Detroit-Style Pizza and how can we introduce more people to what we feel is a spectacular brand. I don’t see any limits to what we can do and where we can take Buddy’s. Again, because of our exceptional core product and our verifiable provenance around Detroit-style pizza, it’s about how can we grow thoughtfully and with purpose.”
Heiss said that, under his leadership, the brand will continue to expand in Michigan while exploring similar markets in the Midwest.
“It’s all part of our plan to take Detroit-style pizza nationwide,” said Heiss. “We’re already on our way.”
ABOUT CAPITALSPRING
Since its founding in 2005 as a source of structured financing to franchisees, CapitalSpring has been focused on providing creative capital solutions to the branded restaurant industry. Now, with over $1.5 billion invested in more than 60 brands across North America, CapitalSpring has become one of the most active institutional investors in the restaurant sector. While the firm’s strategy has broadened and capital base has grown, CapitalSpring remains exclusively dedicated to restaurant investing.
ABOUT BUDDY’S PIZZA
In 1946, Buddy’s Pizza became the birthplace of the Original Detroit-Style Pizza. For more than seven decades, the restaurant has been feeding patrons and earning accolades from fans across the nation, including recognition from CBS This Morning, USA Today, Zagat, Food Network, Pizza Today, Eater, Travel Channel, and more. Consistently voted Detroit’s number one pizza locally, regionally and nationally, the Farmington Hills-based restaurant remains true to its Detroit roots, legacy and traditions that began on the corner of Six Mile and Conant years ago. For more information, visit www.buddyspizza.com or connect with Buddy’s on Facebook (www.facebook.com/buddyspizza), Twitter (@BuddysPizza) and Instagram (@BuddysPizzaDET).
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About the Author
Katie LaTour is a staff writer for 1851 Franchise and Estatenvy. She has experience in copywriting, editing and translation, and has written content for brands including Coca-Cola, Ivivva and Ray Ban's. She holds a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University and a B.A. in English and Spanish from the University of Dayton. Presently, Katie is working on a poetry collection and building a platform for Chicago creative professionals to share best practices.
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