New pizza franchise takes a nibble of Nevada market

Figaro's Pizza, a franchiser based in Oregon, is making a bid for the Nevada pizza customer.

The first two Nevada Figaro's franchises opened this year one in Reno, one in Sun Valley.

Others are in the planning stages.

Figaro's, founded in 1981 in Salem, Ore., was a four-store chain in the 1980s that grew into a regional favorite.An investment group purchased it in 1996, bumped it up to 82 pizza shops in seven western states, and then sold it in 2001 to its current owners, an investment group led by Ron Berger, a veteran franchiser.

The firm has 102 stores up and running, says Jerry Doty, Figaro's national director of marketing.

It has another 35 on the books to open by the end of the year.And next year even more.

"The new owner wants to go national," says Doty.

And the privately held firm is building the markets with a master franchisee model.

The master franchisee typically buys the position statewide; individual franchisees buy rights to regional markets in the state.

Says Nevada's master franchisee, Ron Forbes: "The Nevada market is getting ready to happen."He's hoping to have a couple of Figaro's Pizza shops open in the Las Vegas area by the end of the year."It's very promising," he says.

Meanwhile, northern Nevada is leading the state.

Jeanne and Robert Bodart have bought rights to three franchises and opened the first in Sun Valley in early January."In the middle of a snowstorm," says Jeanne Bodart.

"We were bombarded with customers the first week," she adds.

She and Robert Bodart trained their 15 young, part-time hirees on the run.

The couple came to Nevada with the idea of purchasing a franchise in mind, she says.

They were attracted by the area's growth potential.

Their franchise research led them to Figaro's."It's a growing company," says Bodart, "and we're getting in on the ground floor." That's the plus side.

On the other side of the coin, is the fact that the company is not well known yet in the area.

Name recognition takes a while to build.

For Figaro's, says Doty, local brand recognition emerges out of the franchisees."By the time they have three to five stores," he says, customers have heard about them.

Cost of opening a franchise averages about $200,000, according to Doty.

That includes a franchise fee that works out to about $27,000, plus equipment, lease, signage, and build-out costs.

Investments vary by location.

Sitadri Bagchi has made a big investment in the franchise, says Forbes.He's put his name in the hat for 10 franchises in the Reno area.

Bagchi opened his first Figaro's Pizza shop in the McQueen's Crossing shopping center on Robb Drive.

Previous to going into the franchise business, Bagchi taught probability theory at the University of Nevada, Reno.

He's philosophical about his business."I take one day at a time," he says."I keep the doors on this shop open.

I'll get the architectural plans for the next one as soon as possible."

That next one is planned for a portion of the space under construction at First and Sierra streets.

And next up for the franchise ? That depends on who buys a franchise, says Doty.

The franchise growth strategy is driven by individual franchisers.

On the home offices side, executives are aiming for scalability.

They are getting their master franchisees in place,marketing the individual franchises, and building a brand.