Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen vs 1000 Degrees Pizza Franchise Comparison

Using the family recipe for hand-tossed dough, the sauce made from fresh-crushed California tomatoes, and imported Italian cheese blends, Anthony became the sole owner and chef of his first restaurant Russo’s Pizza in the early 80’s. "It was 800 square feet. I had a pizza oven, a dough mixer and two tables. That's it. I could only sit eight people.” A few years later, he created Anthony’s Pizzeria, located in Clear Lake, Texas, and soon moved to Houston.

For almost a decade, Anthony refined his menu using classic Italian family recipes and zeroed in on the perfect New York-style pizza. In 1992, Russo’s New York Pizzeria opened in downtown Houston, Texas and proved to be a success.

 

Russo's Restaurants is a national and international franchisor of the fast casual and casual dining brands Russo's New York Pizzeria and Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen. Based in Houston, Russo's Restaurants are composed of a mix of corporate and franchised locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Hawaii. Russo's has entered international markets as well, with locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. There are an additional 20-plus units in development both in the United States and internationally. Chef Anthony Russo has created his concepts from years of applying his unique, family recipes featuring New York-style pizza along with a broad variety of handcrafted pasta creations, calzones, salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts, reflecting his commitment to his New York roots where food and family come first.

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”!