Godfather's Pizza

Godfather's Pizza
Private
Industry Fast Food, Pizza
Founded 1973
Headquarters 2808 North 108th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68164
Key people
 Ronald B. Gartlan (CEO)
Products Pizza, Chicken, Salad, Potatoes, Beverages, Desserts.
Website godfathers.com

Godfather's Pizza is a privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that operates fast casual Italian franchises. In addition to their fast casual franchise locations, they also operate many Pizza Express Bars.[1]

History

A location in Hillsboro, Oregon

Godfather's Pizza was founded in Omaha, Nebraska in 1973.[2] In the early 1970s, William Theisen owned a beer parlor named Wild Willy's, next to a pizza restaurant named Godfather's near 99th and Q street in Omaha. Theisen bought out the pizza parlor and the name in 1974 from Greg Johnson who later started the Minsky's Pizza restaurants, and sold his first franchise.[3] Theisen sold the company to Pillsbury in the mid-1980s and stepped down from actively managing the company. In 1986, Pillsbury named Herman Cain CEO and President of the brand. Cain and Ronald B. Gartlan, the company's executive vice president, led a group to purchase the Godfather's brand from Pillsbury, which they did by the beginning of 1990 in a leveraged buyout[4] reported to be $100 million. It was reported to be the fifth largest pizza chain in the United States at the time, down from third place in 1985.[4][5] About this time, many Godfather's locations were bought out by Pantera's Pizza using a similar recipe. Under Cain's leadership, Godfather's closed approximately 200 restaurants and eliminated several thousand jobs, and by doing so returned to profitability.[6] Cain stepped down from his position as CEO and President in 1996 and Gartlan became CEO. Cain stayed on as Chairman until 2002. In 2009 Gartlan bought out Cain.[7] According to the company's official website, as of 14 May 2015, the chain has 571 locations in 36 U.S. states.[8] Godfather's Pizza also operates in some Speedway locations, as well as most Minit Mart locations in Kentucky and northern Tennessee.[9]

The restaurants serve a wide variety of pizzas, breadsticks, chips, cookies, and pastas, and has an extensive salad bar and buffet. They offer four different types of crust: Original, Golden, Mozza-Loaded, and Thin. The chain has recently introduced gluten-free pizzas, made from rice flour.[10]

Spokesman

Godfather's Pizza is also known for its commercials featuring "The Godfather", a parody of Marlon Brando's character, Don Vito Corleone, from the 1972 film The Godfather. "The Godfather" has been played by two actors, the first being Omaha actor J. William Koll,[11] who typically wore a white fedora hat, a pin stripe suit, and a flower on his jacket. He also used the sayings "A pizza you can't refuse!", "Do it!", "If you don't like anchovies, you'll be sleeping with the fishes", "Da goods is in da box!" and "I know your neighborhood."

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Contact Us. Godfather's Pizza. Retrieved on February 26, 2010.
  2. ↑ Berg, Eric N. (September 20, 1988). "Godfather's Pizza Sold By Pillsbury". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ "Godfather's Pizza Finds Home at Chart House". The New York Times. September 15, 1983.
  4. 1 2 Berg, Eric (September 20, 1988). "Godfather's Pizza Sold By Pillsbury". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Godfather's Pizza Incorporated - Company History". Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  6. ↑ Jordon, Steve (October 11, 2011). "Cain: The Godfather's years". Omaha World-Herald.
  7. ↑ http://janicegablebashman.com/wp-content/uploads/GODFATHERS-PIZZA.pdf
  8. ↑ "Godfather's Pizza store locator".
  9. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  10. ↑ "Godfather's Gluten-Free Pizzas".
  11. ↑ "'Godfather' Returns As Spokesman For Pizza Company". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. November 14, 1983. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
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