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Rotolo’s Craft & Crust is expanding into new markets nationwide.
The Baton Rouge-founded pizza franchise plans to have 40 locations complete or under construction across the U.S. by the end of the year.
Rotolo’s has 34 stores with 21 locations in Louisiana and seven in the Greater Baton Rouge area. The franchise opened new locations in South Carolina and Texas this year and has plans to open six additional restaurants throughout Texas and Tennessee, along with its first Arkansas location, in Conway. By the end of the year, Rotolo’s will be in nine states: Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Colorado, South Carolina and Arkansas.
“We’re trying to grow quickly and intelligently,” Brad Mire, Rotolo’s president, tells Daily Report. “We’re not trying to get too big for ourselves. We’re actively looking for franchisees that can help fill in the markets where we’re already growing, give us more brand recognition, build our brand identity and create those opportunities for us to grow where it makes sense.”
Rotolo’s has exclusively opened new Rotolo’s Craft & Crust locations since 2017. While Rotolo’s Pizzeria is its legacy model, Mire says the Craft & Crust concept provides the most opportunity for growth as it has a larger menu, is craft beer-centric and produces multiple types of pizzas, unlike the original pizzeria.
To support the brand’s rapid growth, Rotolo’s started using AI tools in 2022 to help determine site selection by analyzing information from cellphone data, consumer travel patterns, what cuisine succeeds in certain markets and customers’ average restaurant spend. The information has helped franchisees make data-informed decisions to determine whether to invest in opening a business in a particular area, Mire says.
Rotolo’s has made other tech investments to integrate business communication and operations, including streamlining virtual onboarding, an updated POS system, digital scheduling and payroll. It started using Thanx in 2024, a loyalty and reward system that allows customers to gain points and freebies after a certain number of purchases.
Rotolo’s same-store sales increased by 7% in 2024, Mire says.
“I don’t think 50 [locations] by the end of 2026 is a crazy number for us,” Mire says. “I don’t think that’s out of the question. Fifty units would be a great target for us to get to.”
