A Florida-based restaurant company that positions itself as an environmentally friendly pizza chain is looking closely at the Reno market as it begins a West Coast push.
Northern Nevada ultimately could support three to five franchised Pizza Fusion locations, said Eric Haley, a spokesman for the company headquartered at Fort Lauderdale.
The company has contracted with CB Richard Ellis to provide site-selection services nationwide, and Haley said West Coast markets including Reno are high on the company's list of targets.
Launched in 2006, Pizza Fusion franchise owners currently have 50 stores under development. They include locations in Las Vegas, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Colorado.
The company also is selling franchises in California, Oregon and Washington.
Pizza Fusion specializes in pizza, sandwiches and other menu items made with organic products. Its company-owned vehicles are hybrids. Its stores are built to green-building specifications, including the use of solar panels and the use of systems to recycle the heat from its pizza ovens. And its customers are urged to return pizza boxes so the cardboard can be recycled.
Haley said the company draws consumers similar to those who shop at Whole Foods or Wild Oats organic food markets, and Pizza Fusion often looks for locations near to those grocers.
Other high-traffic, high-population neighborhoods such as those near college campuses also get a close look for franchised stores, he said.
