Pie Five

Pie Five Pizza Company

File:Pie Five Pizza logo 2019.png Logo in use since 2019
File:Pie Five Pizza Co at VCU (20554045846).jpg Pie Five location in Richmond, Virginia
Trade name	Pie Five Pizza
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Fast Casual Dining
Founded	June 2, 2011 (2011-06-02) in Fort Worth, Texas
Headquarters	The Colony, Texas, United States
Number of locations	19 (December 2024)
Area served	United States
Key people	Brandon Solano, CEO RAVE Restaurant Group Mike Burns, COO RAVE Restaurant Group Douglas Kwong, VP Marketing RAVE Restaurant Group Aaron Archuleta, Director Operations Pie Five Pizza
Products	Custom personal pizzas, fresh salads, desserts, beverages
Parent	Rave Restaurant Group
Website	piefivepizza.com

Pie Five Pizza is a U.S.-based fast casual dining chain that specializes in individual-sized pizzas. As a subsidiary of Rave Restaurant Group—also the owner of Pizza Inn—Pie Five operates 19 outlets as of December 2024, serving customers in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.

Concept

The core of Pie Five’s operation lies in crafting personalized individual pizzas ready within five minutes. Its menu features custom-made pizzas alongside salads, calzones, bread items, and desserts. Many venues also provide beer selections to enhance the fast casual dining atmosphere.

History

Established on June 3, 2011, by Pizza Inn in Fort Worth, Texas, Pie Five quickly grew to five stores locally by the end of its inaugural year and expanded to 31 locations by January 2015. Randy Gier, who brought experience from executive roles at PepsiCo and Yum! Brands within the foodservice sector, was CEO from 2012 through 2016.

On January 9, 2015, the parent company transitioned its name from Pizza Inn Holdings (stock symbol: "PZZI") to Rave Restaurant Group ("RAVE") to better represent its expanding brand portfolio including Pie Five.

In 2017, the chain strategically withdrew from multiple Midwestern markets—closing most Chicago-area restaurants and two sites in the Twin Cities—to concentrate on more profitable regions. That year also marked Pie Five’s debut on the West Coast with a San Francisco location. Efforts to grow into south central Pennsylvania concluded by early 2018 following franchise changes and closures.

Leadership changed in October 2019 when Brandon L. Solano took over as CEO of Rave Restaurant Group. Despite ongoing expansion attempts, financial results deteriorated; by October 2020 comparable store sales had declined by 15.7%, with many of the then-42 outlets depending substantially on third-party delivery platforms.

A January 2021 review highlighted several challenges: rapid expansion and franchising within a competitive environment; inconsistent guest experiences undermining brand loyalty; insufficient marketing investment; risks related to potential Nasdaq delisting; and a previous credit card security incident that harmed reputation.

In March 2021, Pie Five launched the Panzano Pan Crust pizza—a new offering designed to utilize the chain’s specialized ovens and distinguish its menu within the fast casual pizza segment.

Awards

As an innovator within the fast casual pizza industry, Pie Five Pizza earned a spot twice among Fast Casual's Top 15 "Movers & Shakers" in both 2013 and 2014. In 2012, it was honored with the Hot Concepts award by Nation's Restaurant News and was also highlighted by Forbes.com as one of the "10 Hot New Restaurant Chains from Established Brands."

See also

• Blaze Pizza
• MOD Pizza
• Chipotle Mexican Grill