Mici Italian’s Executives Share This Year’s Successes and What’s to Come

Mici Italian is on the cusp of many great happenings entering into Q3. The seven-unit quality artisan pizza and pasta concept, which started franchising last year, is gearing up for its first batch of franchisees to open and expand the Mici name outside Colorado. With new technologies and processes being implemented and a rebranding effort being rolled out, the company is looking forward to exciting changes.

“We've spent eighteen years figuring out how Mici can serve family-recipe, artisan Italian food that is built for the convenience of pickup and delivery,” said Elliot Schiffer, CEO of Mici Italian. “Our kitchens use patented technology to make operations simple. By investing in the brand so heavily, we've built a model that is easy to operate while putting out award winning food.”

“Our national expansion is kicking off with rapid growth. We have almost doubled in size by signing on franchise markets in the Phoenix, Dallas and Detroit areas,” said Matt Stanton, Chief Growth Officer for Mici. “We'll be opening a restaurant about every three to four weeks throughout the summer.”

Mici locations will soon pop up in Gilbert, Arizona; Frisco, Texas; Troy, Michigan; Queen Creek, Arizona; Verrado, Arizona; and Laveen, Arizona. The brand is also negotiating for additional franchise locations in the Dallas area and has another corporate unit opening in Southglenn, Colorado.

To prepare for success as the brand begins to grow, Mici has been working on a few internal changes that are set to be rolled out at the new restaurants. The company is using Compeat Restaurant Management software that links to their Thrive point-of-sale system to track speed of service and efficiency. The technology will help teams carry out their “10/20/30 goal”, to fulfill dine-in, pick up and delivery orders in ten, twenty or thirty minutes.

They are also implementing pick-up stations that make it convenient and easy for customers to walk in and grab their order, catering to the 55% of their business that’s carryout. But Mici is going above most restaurants and ensuring the pizza stays hot while waiting for pickup by using insulated pizza bags.

“People can walk in and walk out of the restaurant in 10 seconds with their food, and they're very happy that it's really fast. And they’re happy that we protect the product quality and don’t let it degrade on the shelf by keeping the product hot while it's there,” Schiffer added. He said the customer feedback on the five Colorado locations that have the stations already is very positive.

In addition, Mici has been working with Denver design agency Wunder Werkz to undergo a brand refresh as they grow. The efforts are focused on visually conveying the company’s dichotomy of modern convenience and old-school recipes and flavor, and stores are being remodeled with light, airy colors and natural woods. The brand is also partnering with Local Hero to do an expansive digital marketing campaign and make sure people hear about Mici in its new markets.

Stanton explained that all of these concerted efforts are part of Mici’s plan to make sure the company stays strong, successful and profitable as it grows, despite labor and supply issues that plague the industry.

“We are currently experiencing a flow of interest into the brand with our first franchise restaurants opening, and we are preparing to scale support as we bring more franchisees into the system so it's a very smooth and controlled process. We’re scaling our team, bolstering our marketing and making sure our processes are really refined,” said Stanton. “We want to leave nothing to chance when it comes to the successful operation of these new restaurants, and that starts with proper support.”

For more information on Mici Italian, visit miciitalian.com.

ABOUT MICI ITALIAN

Founded in 2004 by Miceli siblings Jeff, Michael and Kim, Mici is an emerging Italian restaurant franchise based in Denver. Mici’s streamlined artisanal menu offers comforting, classic Italian fare steeped in generations of family history, all prepared quickly without losing an inch of quality, for families who don’t always have the time or money to prepare a full Italian dinner and each location offers minimal wait and delivery times thanks to high-efficiency kitchen operations. Recently Mici began national growth and is launching the brand in several markets this summer including DFW, Phoenix, and Detroit. In 2020, Mici Italian placed on FastCasual Movers and Shakers and QSR 40/40 lists and has won Denver’s Best Pizza and Best Italian for the last 10 years.