Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Albuquerque-based Pizza 9 restaurant chain is undertaking an aggressive expansion of its market in New Mexico, and it has Tucumcari on its radar.
Tucumcari City Manager Mark Martinez mentioned during a city commission meeting Feb. 25 that Pizza 9 was looking for a franchisee to open a site in Tucumcari.
Jeffrey Candelaria, Pizza 9’s franchise development director, during a phone interview Thursday pointed to a Feb. 24 company news release that announced the company was extending franchise opportunities to markets in Artesia, Bernalillo, Carlsbad, Clovis, Deming, East Sandia Mountains, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Portales, Rio Rancho, Roswell, Silver City, Socorro, Sunland Park, Taos, Truth or Consequences, Tucumcari and the South Valley area of Albuquerque.
In Tucumcari, Candelaria said the company is looking for a family or individual in the community that wants a franchise.
He said Pizza 9 offers flexible methods to open, including a dine-in model in an existing building, citing the closed KFC restaurant on South First Street. Candelaria said such an arrangement “makes the most sense.”
A cooperative model allows a franchisee to open inside another operating business, such as a bowling alley. The countertop model would permit a carry-out operation inside a filling station.
“Tucumcari is one of the markets we feel would work very well,” he said. “You’re right on I-40, so it would attract from Logan, Santa Rosa and the truck traffic.”
He compared the city to Gallup, where Pizza 9 opened a restaurant less than two years ago and is generating $1 million in revenue annually.
Candelaria said franchise fees are $18,000, or $10,000 for veterans. The fee comes with access to Pizza 9’s systems, formulas, marketing staff and other support from ownership.
He said several people have questioned the company’s plans to expand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Candelaria said his sector is thriving during that time.
“Pizza is one of the few industries across the country that’s gone up in sales 10% to 15%,” he said. “Those trends probably aren’t going to change.”
Hasan “Hass” Aslami and Behrad “Rod” Etemadi founded Pizza 9 in Albuquerque in 2008 and has expanded it to 14 locations in New Mexico. Pizza 9 specializes in Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas and beef sandwiches, along with pastas, salads and calzones.