Peter Piper Pizza, a family-style pizza restaurant owned by Chuck E. Cheese’s parent CEC Entertainment, plans to open its first Palm Beach County location in Greenacres — part of a push to expand the west coast chain east of the Mississippi River.
The Phoenix-based company is eyeing locations across Florida, with an emphasis on the southern reaches of the state, said Jason Greenwood, the chain’s Chief Marketing Officer. The company currently has 146 restaurants in a handful of southwestern states and Mexico, but announced last year that it planned to expand into new markets.
No opening date has been set for the Greenacres location, which is planned in the Green Acres Plaza at the corner of Lake Worth and Jog roads. Greenwood said its unclear whether the Palm Beach County restaurant will be the company’s first in Florida.
“I can’t tell you it is the first, but it will be one of the first,” Greenwood said. “We love the market. We love South Florida.”
The build-your-own pizza craze has taken hold in Palm Beach County over the last several years with chains like Blaze Pizza and 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza opening their doors here.
But Greenwood said Peter Piper Pizza’s family-friendly environment helps set itself apart from those fast-casual dining options.
“We are an experience,” Greenwood said. “We are the solution to the family night out … It is a place where families can come together.”
The company’s restaurants feature a game room, giving children a place to play while parents eat and relax. There is also beer on tap and a modern design that appeals to parents.
Unlike Chuck E. Cheese where the focus is entertainment, Greenwood said Peter Piper Pizza prides itself on its food.
“We are a restaurant with an entertainment component,” Greenwood said. “When you walk in, the first thing you see is an open kitchen. You see team members making the pizza by scratch. Really the first thing that you encounter is food.”
Pizza consumption has been on the rise for several years, and companies across the country are looking for ways to stand out from the competition, according to 2016 report released by Technomic, a Chicago-based food research and analytics firm.
Consumers average 4 “pizza occasions” a month, up from 3.4 in 2014, the report said. As demand grows, consumers have also shifted their focus to “unique, high-quality and better-for-you pizza ingredients,” Technomics said.
Transparency is also important. A growing number consumers want know the nutritional content of the pizza they eat, the firm said.
Peter Piper Pizza opened its first location 1973 in Glendale, Arizona. The company added games to its restaurants in 1980. By 1985, the chain had more than 100 locations across the southwest.
CEC Entertainment bought the company in 2014, saying that it planned to grow the brand nationally.
In addition to its push into Florida, Peter Piper Pizza recently opened four new locations in Oklahoma and Las Vegas featuring a new prototype design with flat screen televisions and WiFi.
“Really we are a pizzeria,” Greenwood said. “We are more experiential. That is what is different.”
