History of the Godfathers Pizza

Godfather’s Pizza Inc. is the fourth largest pizza chain in all of the United States. It has more than five hundred franchised and corporate restaurants in the country. It is actually an Italian pizza restaurant that is based in Omaha, Nebraska. It serves thick crusted and thin crusted pizzas. It is also well-known for its meat and vegetable pizzas, as well as other mouthwatering products. The history of Godfathers Pizza can be traced back in 1973 when William Theisen founded it. It originally operated under Diversified Foods’ ownership. And since then, it had grown rapidly. So, from 1977 until 1979, Godfather’s pizza became the best-selling pizza in the United States; making the company the fastest rising food chain at the time.

But in the 1980’s, the pizza chain was sold to Pillsbury, a company known for its flour, ice cream, and baking products. William Theisen also ceased managing the pizza chain. Nevertheless, Godfather’s remained on top until 1984. That year, it had expanded to more than nine hundred restaurants and generated USD$365 million as its annual sales. Throughout the years, Godfathers Pizza has been reputed to serve only high quality pizzas and other great food including chicken wings, cheese sticks, bread sticks, and desserts. It even had an affordable salad bar, as well as a buffet. In addition, the pizza chain had popular commercials which featured “The Godfather”. This character was based on the 1972 The Godfather movie, and was noted for its white hat and pin-stripe suit. Its famous commercial lines include “Do it!” and “A pizza you can’t refuse!”

However, in 1986, several franchises of Godfathers Pizza plummeted. And the pizza chain struggled to beat its competitors. So, Pillsbury selected Herman Cain to be the new president of Godfather’s. Cain had previously rescued some Burger King chains from bankruptcy; thereby earning him a remarkable reputation. And with his leading abilities, he managed to settle some lawsuits, eliminated non-profitable units, introduced more products, and arranged for delivery services. As a result, the pizza chain gradually went back to its feet. Plus, newer pizzas attracted more customers. The mouthwatering bacon cheeseburger pizza and fruit-filled cherry and apple dessert pizzas were introduced.

Moreover, Godfather’s Pizza focused on a one-number delivery system to compete with other pizza chains’ home delivery systems. Fortunately, this system had worked and Godfather’s eventually expanded. Furthermore, several humorous commercials were aired. This was the pizza chain’s attempt to increase public awareness of its products and add a fun concept. Godfather’s also introduced products to pubic schools. It developed fun games that were related to pizzas. So, teachers used these games to encourage young students to master mathematical basics. And the students who performed well were given rewards.