Entrepreneur Yiris Hallal Signs Three-Unit Deal, Bringing Family-Driven Vision to a Growing Market
LAS CRUCES, N.M., April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, announces its expansion in New Mexico with a new three-unit area development agreement led by entrepreneur Yiris Hallal. The first location is set to open in July at 3835 East Lohman Ave. in Las Cruces, signaling continued growth in the market and the start of broader regional development.
“This agreement represents an exciting opportunity to continue building the Marco’s brand in new territories,” said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer of Marco’s Pizza. “As we expand, we’re focused on growing awareness, strengthening our presence in key markets, and partnering with operators who can help establish the brand locally and support long-term, sustainable growth across the Southwest.”
Experienced Operators Fuel Marco’s Growing Footprint in New Mexico
Behind the development is Hall Foods, LLC, a family-run venture led by Hallal in partnership with his brother, David Hallal. His daughter, Daniela Hallal, will play a key role in the business and is set to manage the first location—highlighting the family’s long-term vision for expansion in New Mexico.
A longtime entrepreneur, Hallal has built and operated technology businesses specializing in structured cabling, network infrastructure, and security systems across commercial and industrial sectors. While continuing to run those operations, he saw franchising as an opportunity to apply his experience within a scalable business model.
“Franchising with Marco’s gives us the advantage of a strong operational playbook,” said Hallal. “We’re stepping into a system designed for efficiency and scalability, while still maintaining ownership of how we grow the business. Being part of the brand’s expansion in New Mexico is something we’re really excited about.”
Building a Strong Foundation in Las Cruces
For Hallal, Marco’s stood out for its operational model and strong brand positioning, making it a compelling fit for an underserved market like New Mexico.
Daniela Hallal, who recently earned her undergraduate degree in finance and a master’s in management, will relocate to Las Cruces to lead day-to-day operations as general manager. Her experience as a manager at Amazon helped shape her focus on execution and team development.
Scaling Growth in New Mexico and Beyond
The Hallal family is actively evaluating additional sites for future development, with plans to expand further within Las Cruces and potentially into Albuquerque as part of their three-unit agreement. Based in El Paso, Texas—just 45 minutes from Las Cruces—the family is well-positioned for hands-on involvement as they grow their footprint in the region.
As Marco’s Pizza continues to expand its national presence, open markets like New Mexico represent a key part of the brand’s development strategy. With an effective operational model, established infrastructure, and dedicated franchisee support, the brand is positioned to build a meaningful presence in the Southwest.
Incentivizing Growth for Multi-Unit Operators
To further support accessibility and franchise expansion, Marco’s introduced the Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program, designed to lower barriers for qualified multi-unit owners. With early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%**, along with comprehensive support in real estate, construction, and operations, the program provides a streamlined, resource-rich path for franchisees to expand.
Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as Marco’s Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.28M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2025.*
For more information Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Brad Smith at bradsmith@marcos.com or 419-279-5795.
ABOUT MARCO’S PIZZA
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco’s Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco’s was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale (“Pat”) Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Notably, Marco’s was recognized as America’s Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation’s Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2025 dataꝉꝉ. Other recent accolades include being recognized by QSR as one of the “16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025”, ranking No. 50 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2026 “Franchise 500” ranking, earning a coveted spot as the only top 5 pizza chain to rank on Newsweek’s 2025 “America’s Best Customer Service” in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR’s Top 50, and being featured on Nation’s Restaurant News’ prestigious “Top 500” ranking.
*Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 250 units) of Marco’s Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2025 fiscal year. Of the 997 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2025 fiscal year, 250 were included in the top 25% set and 37% obtained or surpassed the average sales volume. This information excludes (i) international locations (including Puerto Rico); (ii) Franchised Stores not open for the entire 52-week period in 2025; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2025. See Item 19 of our 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.
**The information provided in this article should not be construed as an offer to sell any Marco’s Pizza® franchises in, nor is any such communication directed to, the residents of any jurisdiction requiring registration of the franchise before it is offered and sold in that jurisdiction. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Marco’s Pizza® franchises will not be sold to any resident of such jurisdiction until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such jurisdiction and the required franchise disclosure document (if applicable) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. Additionally, the participant must meet our financial, creditworthiness, and operational criteria to qualify for the incentive program and be approved by us to open each Store. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, the qualifying participant must maintain at least 50% ownership in the entity, as well as the qualifying existing Stores, to qualify for this program, and the franchisee must comply with program requirements. In the event the participant fails at any time to meet the timelines to qualify for the applicable incentive program while developing a Store, the Store being developed and any remaining unopened Stores to be developed will pay the then-current standard Royalty Fee rate. See Marco’s Franchising’s Franchise Disclosure Document for more information. To qualify for the incentive program, the participant must sign a development agreement and open the stores within the following timeframes: 1st Store within 365 days of signing; 2nd Store within 6 months of 1st store opening; 3rd Store within 6 months of 2nd store opening; 4th Store within 6 months of 3rd store opening; 5th Store within 6 months of 4th store opening.
ꝉꝉAccording to Technomic’s 2025 America’s Favorite Restaurants data, Marco’s Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 54.6% composite top-box rating, indicating the share of recent guests who gave the brand the highest possible rating for each of the guest experience attributes. Data for America’s Favorite Chains comes from Technomic Ignite Consumer, which collects information about how brands impact consumers and how consumers interact with those brands, via online surveys. See here for more information: www.technomic.com/ignite-consumer.
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SOURCE Marco’s Pizza
