1851 Franchise talked to SPIN! Pizza’s director of marketing and branding, Ellen Koch, to learn more about what’s next for the concept.

SPIN! Pizza is an authentic Neapolitan pizza experience that offers a unique blend of full-service dining with fast-casual pricing and ease. With this model, SPIN! hopes to become everybody’s new go-to neighborhood spot for eating, drinking and mingling with family and friends. With a wide menu that offers pizzas, sandwiches, salads, wine and even gelato, it’s easy to see why SPIN! Pizza is becoming an emerging franchise brand to look out for.

1851 Franchise sat down with SPIN!’s director of marketing and branding, Ellen Koch, to find out what the secret sauce to their success is and how they set themselves apart from the rest. 

Currently, how many SPIN! locations are there?

We currently have 18 SPIN! locations. 10 are in Kansas City, four are in Dallas, two are in the Omaha, Nebraska area, one is in Lawrence, Kansas and another one is in Alameda, California.

How many of those are franchise owned?

Four of our locations (found in Omaha, Lawrence and Alameda) are owned by franchisees. Each franchisee has one location, except Omaha which has two.

How would you best describe the SPIN! Pizza experience?

SPIN! is a hybrid of a fast-casual and full-service dining experience. We focus on high-quality ingredients and guest hospitality. Our guests order and pay at the counter, but once they get to their table, the full-service experience begins. Servers deliver the food and drink to the table, and because our checks are left open, guests can order additional drinks or food if they like. We pride ourselves on giving the guests a full-service experience with fast-casual pricing.

What do you think is currently driving growth/success?

SPIN! offers guests quality artisan food with outstanding customer service. We wanted to focus on what they would find at a full-service restaurant but at a price point of a fast-casual restaurant.

How do you prepare/supply your franchisees with the right tools to ensure success?

We require our franchisees to hire experienced managers and have them spend seven weeks in one of our training restaurants. We also send a training team to the location to help train the new staff for one week prior to its opening as well as two weeks after the restaurant is open. We have great systems that help the franchisees stay on track with all aspects of the SPIN! operations.

What makes SPIN! unique from its competitors?

SPIN!’s menu is created in collaboration with James Beard Award-Winning Chef Michael Smith, which allows our guests to have a gourmet meal and experience. We offer traditional thin-and-bubbly crust, rustic whole wheat and gluten-free pizzas, all of which are topped with flavor-packed, fresh ingredients that are roasted in our stone oven daily. Our salads are fresh with made-from-scratch dressings, and all our soups are homemade. We have a wide selection of Panini’s and Deli Sandwiches. We also have a wide variety of wines (available by the bottle or glass), beer and sangria. And for the perfect ending to your night, we offer a wide variety of gelato (including vegan) for dessert.

When/why did SPIN! decide to franchise? 

We have been approached since we started SPIN! to franchise. We decided about five years ago to put a franchise program together and expand SPIN! outside the Kansas City market.

What are SPIN's! goals for the near future?

We are more focused on making sure that each of our restaurants provides the best products and service than we are with opening new restaurants. Our culture is what is important to us.

What markets are you targeting for growth?

We are currently looking at existing markets to open new restaurants. We have no current plans to open new markets.

For somebody who is interested in owning a SPIN! franchise how much is the franchise fee?

Our royalty is five percent, and the negotiable franchise fee is $35,000.