Placement among the nation’s largest franchise systems comes as Marco’s eyes 1,300th store and attracts some of the country’s biggest restaurant franchisees
TOLEDO, Ohio, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, has once again been recognized on the Franchise Times Top 400, the annual ranking of the largest U.S.-based franchise systems. Compiled through a five-month research and reporting process, the Top 400 is widely regarded as one of the most credible and objective rankings in franchising, and Marco’s continued presence on the list reinforces its standing as an established, scaled national brand with significant room left to grow.
“Being recognized among the largest franchise systems in the country is a reflection of the people who build this brand every day: our franchisees, their teams, and the communities that support them,” said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer of Marco’s Pizza. “What excites me most is what’s still in front of us. We have a quality product guests love, a support system built around operators, and a tremendous amount of white space across the U.S. and internationally. For entrepreneurs looking for a brand with both scale and runway, there’s no better time to join Marco’s.”
A Brand of Choice for Experienced Multi-Unit Operators
Marco’s growth is increasingly being driven by sophisticated, multi-unit and multi-brand franchisees. Just weeks ago, three Marco’s franchisee groups were named to the 2026 Franchise Times Restaurant 200, the ranking of the largest restaurant franchisee companies in the U.S.
“When operators who have built some of the largest restaurant portfolios in the country choose to invest in Marco’s, it tells you something about the opportunity,” added Flores. “We’ve been intentional about getting the fundamentals right, from communication and onboarding to real estate and operations support, and today we’re actively seeking franchisees who want to grow with us in underserved markets across the U.S., the Caribbean, and Latin America.”
Why Franchisees Are Choosing Marco’s
- A product guests can taste the difference in: Marco’s dough is made fresh in-store daily and topped with a never-frozen three-cheese blend. With menu innovation led by Chef Kathleen Kennedy, Marco’s keeps guests coming back with chef-driven launches, from a NY Style Pizza perfected over 50+ rounds of testing to the returning Margherita Magnifico, all supported by a redesigned app and loyalty program.
- Lower barriers to growth: Marco’s continues to prioritize multi-unit development agreements as a core part of its growth strategy. The company’s Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program is designed to lower barriers for qualified multi-unit operators, with early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%*, along with comprehensive support in real estate, construction, and operations.
- Investment in the system: Later this month, Marco’s opens its Operations Center of Excellence in downtown Orlando. Designed as a performance engine for the entire system, the center features a fully equipped training kitchen that replicates a real Marco’s store kitchen, serves as the home of Marco’s University for advanced franchisee and certified operator training, and will host discovery days for prospective franchisees. Alongside it, Marco’s continues rolling out advanced digital tools and operational enhancements, while strategic vendor partnerships have delivered meaningful supply chain cost savings for franchisees.
- Industry-wide recognition. In addition to the Top 400, Marco’s has been ranked No. 2 on Pizza Marketplace’s 2026 Top 100 Movers & Shakers, named to the QSR 50 for the third consecutive year, ranked among the top 50 brands on Entrepreneur‘s 2026 Franchise 500, and recognized on Newsweek‘s 2025 America’s Best Customer Service list for pizza chains.
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.marcosfranchising.com/
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. For Marco’s Pizza franchise information and opportunities please visit www.marcosfranchising.com to fill out an inquiry form.
*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.
**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.
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
