Why a Former Pizza Hut DM Became a Romeo’s Pizza Franchisee

Patrick Howlett has been in the restaurant industry for more than 15 years, working as a district manager for Villa Pizza, a district manager for Pizza Hut and the founder of his own full-service burger bar concept, Coach’s Burger Bar. Now, he owns four outposts of Romeo’s Pizza, the 50-unit pizza champion in the franchising industry, in Northeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Tampa, Florida.

So, what made Howlett transition from one of the largest pizza chains in the U.S. to its fast-growing competitor, Romeo’s Pizza?

A franchise broker that Howlett was working with recommended Romeo’s Pizza. She believed Howlett’s values and personality would align perfectly with the brand.

And she was right.

Howlett says it was Romeo’s corporate team and their incredible generosity that drew him to the brand. “I met the corporate team and fell in love with them,” he said. “I bought into the vision of Ryan Rose, Ryan Rao and Mike Rao. I didn’t buy Romeo’s — I bought their vision.”

Once Howlett signed on with the brand, he didn’t hesitate to go all-in. He signed two leases at the onset of training, and while those stores were in the buildout process, he signed two more leases.

“In less than six months, we had four stores,” he said. “And now, we're looking at another five leases.”

Opening four stores is no simple feat. But thanks to Romeo’s corporate team, Howlett says he never felt alone.

“When you open four stores that fast, you run into issues, and they were the first ones to give me access to someone from their team to work with permanently and offer solutions,” he said. “They're amazing for their partnership. It's never a short-sighted partnership — it's always long-term.”

That sense of camaraderie and franchisee-first mentality are qualities the Romeo’s Pizza leadership team strives for with each and every one of its franchise partners. And according to Howlett, it’s his favorite part about working with the brand.

“I love that we’re all in it together and we're all a team,” he said. “Everyone is willing to drop whatever they’re doing to help you. If you have a challenge, you can call anyone, and they'll make it right or figure out what they can do to help.”

“Patrick is an ideal candidate for Romeo’s Pizza,” said CEO Ryan Rose. “His background in the restaurant industry and insider knowledge in the world of pizza specifically has set him up to be one of Romeo’s top performing franchisees. We look forward to our continued partnership as he continues opening up more locations.”

Howlett is fully committed to the Romeo’s Pizza mission of delivering sweet smiles one slice at a time. His goal is to grow to up to 40 stores — and then continue growing from there.

The initial investment range for a Romeo’s Pizza franchise is between $128,000 – $403,000 per unit including franchise fees, building improvement costs, training, equipment, operating cash reserves and any additional needs. To learn more about franchising with Romeo’s Pizza, visit https://romeospizzafranchise.com/.