Me-N-Ed's Pizzerias vs 1000 Degrees Pizza Franchise Comparison

The pizza world has never been the same since the first Me-n-Ed oven was fired up in Sacramento, California, in 1958. Russ "Me" Johnson and Ed Sandlin didn't set out to build a pizza parlor empire - it just happened. From their modest beginnings, Russ and Ed began selling Me-n-Ed's franchises throughout California while operating their own restaurants around the San Francisco Bay area. Expanding into Fresno, Russ and Ed met Ben and Marcella Watters, who ran a boarding house and quickly became known for their frequent visits to Me-n-Ed's. As the story goes, during one particular visit, a potted plant in the restaurant caught Marcella's eye. She had to have it. When the owner refused to sell it to her, Marcella bought the entire restaurant. The plant was hers - along with the franchise rights to Me-n-Ed's. Marcella and Ben moved the restaurant from the original Fresno location to a new site on Blackstone Avenue and joined forces with Bob Cox, who worked with a local baker to perfect a recipe for Me-n-Ed's signature thin crust pizza dough, which has since become the stuff of legends. Through the mid-1960s, the Me-n-Ed's name continued to expand throughout Fresno and Orange County, along with a reputation for making some of the best pizza west of the Mississippi. In the summer of '62, Doug Price (Marcella's 15-year-old nephew) ventured to Fresno from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, to soak up the California sun and work at Me-n-Ed's. By the time Doug graduated three years later, his Aunt Marcella and Uncle Ben had moved to Orange County, where they were operating Me-n-Ed's restaurants previously owned by Bob Cox. Doug left the prairies and headed to Orange County to go to college, but his plans quickly changed, and he ended up where he really belonged - working for the family business, Me-n-Ed's. The Watters continued the Me-n-Ed's expansion into Santa Ana, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Long Beach. Then, in 1969, the Watters brought the Me-n-Ed's name north of the border to Burnaby, where the first Me-n-Ed's in Canada opened that summer - managed by 21-year-old co-owner Doug Price.' Before long, the Burnaby Me-n-Ed's had become a community fixture - albeit more of a pub than a restaurant. Customers would line up to listen to a honky-tonk piano and savour Me-n-Ed's now-famous pizza along with a cold beer. As other neighbourhood pubs began popping up through the years, the Me-n-Ed's atmosphere shifted to one of family, where it remains. Even now, some 50 years since Me-n-Ed's first came to Canada, you'll still find that same cozy, neighbourly feel that put us on the map - whether you're visiting a Me-n-Ed's in Burnaby, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam or Langley.

In any business, separation is key. At 1000 Degrees pizzeria franchise, we believe that we are far and away the clear choice when considering entering the pizza franchise market.  Better food, reasonably low cost to construct, efficient dynamic marketing, a big picture mentality realizing that serving the best pizza in the city is a keystone part of our mission.  Below are just a few reasons 1000 Degrees is the hottest pizza franchise concept in the nation!  

A) Dough: Our authentic Neapolitan & Roman style dough recipes date back over 100 years from the Campania region of Italy (Naples) . Our authentic Neapolitan style thin crust (2 minute cook time) & new Roman style thick crust (3 minute cook time) dough is made fresh daily using “tipo 00 style” flour, and is mixed using an authentic Italian made “fork-style” mixer. We do not use the “dough hook” style traditional mixer used in most corner pizzeria franchises across the country. Our “fork-style” mixer is pivotal to the end product. A thin crispy, airy, light-on-the-belly crust, that is thin (Neapolitan style) or Thick (Roman Style) and the tastiest crust in town.  Our “Roman style thick crust” is just as tasty but a with a thicker, heartier crust, similar to a Sicilian Pizza crust without the extra oil.  Our dough is made fresh daily in each of our restaurants, and is 100% hand tossed giving us the best tasting authentic Neapolitan & Roman style pizzas anywhere.  There just are no other pizza franchises that offer food like 1000 Degrees, it is plain and simple!

B) Sauces: 1000 Degrees Pizzeria Franchise prides itself on serving the best of the best, and our sauce follows suit.  Our delicious San-Marzano and Cherry tomato based sauces will be the best your customers have ever tasted. We also offer a wide range of other delicious sauces, including Spicy Sriracha Marinara, Blue-cheese buffalo, pesto, and smokey bourbon barbecue to name a few.  Our sauces are fresh tasting, innovative, and present a flavor profile for both those who appreciate old world taste and those who are looking to broaden their pizza experience alike.

C) Hand Made Brick Oven: Part of operating in a Quick Serve, or Fast-Casual pizzeria franchise environment is having a process that works. We use a hand-made brick oven, that cooks our pizzas to perfection in just about 2 minutes (for Neapolitan thin crust or 3 minutes for Roman style thick crust). Unlike “west-coast” pizza concepts, we know pizza and our concept was developed in the pizza capital of the United States. We do not use a dough press to turn our pizza into a fajita with a quick sear to compensate for a substandard cooking process. Our hand tossed pizzas cook for just about 120-180 seconds and are back to the customer just minutes after placing their order.  We don’t just serve “fast pizza”  we serve the BEST PIZZA IN THE CITY, it just happens to cook fast!  Unlike other pizza franchises, our oven is state of the art, lined in imported Italian refractory brick, and is a pivotal “piece of the pie”!