Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme kept busy the past two years, navigating two Newport Beach restaurant brands through the pandemic as well as a major expansion push.
The duo—who learned the restaurant business through prior ownership of over 40 Burger Kings—turned to a familiar name from their college years and bought pizzeria concept Mountain Mike’s Pizza LLC in 2017.
One year later, they took over Juice It Up LLC.
The investments have delivered. Both franchise-focused businesses reported their best years in sales growth for 2021.
Total system sales hit over $250 million for Mountain Mike’s, which counts more than 245 locations, while sales surpassed $41 million for the 83-unit Juice It Up.
Those figures are up 24% and 26% over 2020, respectively. Mountain Mike’s last year topped $1 million in systemwide average unit volume for the first time ever.
Among OC-based chains, Mountain Mike’s ranks No. 10 by sales, and Juice it Up is approaching the sales of Laguna Hills’ Pick Up Stix, which ranked No. 25 last year, according to the Business Journal’s latest restaurants list.
Chalk the record years up to each business anticipating changing customer needs, and executing at the corporate level, the duo says.
“Whatever you’re franchising, the franchise business has a consistent playbook you need to provide,” Britt told the Business Journal.
Expansion, Labor
More’s in store for each brand in 2022.
Mountain Mike’s established new franchise agreements for over 60 new restaurants in 2021, and opened 18 new restaurants over the course of last year. The Newport Beach pizzeria will reach 250 stores in total this year, all franchised.
The pizza chain currently has five locations in OC, but 10 more are in development among its planned 30 new spots for 2022.
Juice It Up, meanwhile, signed 11 franchise agreements last year and expects to open 13 new stores this year (see story, this page). It has 16 locations in OC.
Beyond expansion, a key priority for both firms is working through the ongoing labor challenge, officials say.
The post-pandemic industry “pushes owners to focus on the culture of their restaurant and their employee base,” Britt and St. Geme said.
Pizza Delivery
Mountain Mike’s, in operations for 40 years, has been methodically moving eastward, with recent new locations in Idaho and Arizona. Britt and St. Geme note that Texas, where it has yet to expand to, could eventually be on par with the pizzeria’s presence in California, currently its biggest market.
The firm benefited much from the pandemic environment. “Offering convenience and food to a quarantined guest drove a lot of business in stores,” Britt said.
The brand also launched a loyalty program and redeveloped its mobile app.
Mountain Mike’s digital platforms now make up for 40% of its system sales and ended the year with 250,000 loyalty members after the program’s mid-year introduction.
The pizzeria recently became an official pizza partner with the Los Angeles Angels baseball team.
100% Ownership
The pizza firm didn’t have a traditional support center at the time the duo acquired the brand in 2017. Co-CEOs Britt and St. Geme have constructed a now 26-person team, including Jim Metevier, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
Metevier counts more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant industry, including positions at Yum Brands, parent company of Irvine’s Taco Bell.
Britt and St. Geme recently became 100% owners of Mountain Mike’s business, buying out their previous financial partner Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in a deal completed in February.
LLCP officials called their 2017 investment in the pizza chain “extremely successful” for both the private equity firm and Mountain Mike’s management team.
“We are continuing to build on the foundation of Mountain Mike’s,” Britt said of the buyout.
“We’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting, now we’re capable of growing unit count,” St. Geme said.
Instead of the typical franchise structure of “buy and sell,” the team is moving forward on “the premise of buy and build, and no more selling, which is opening up the future.”
Digital Drive, Revamped Menu Drives Juice It Up
Susan Taylor joined Juice It Up in 2019 as vice president of operations, after serving Atlanta-based Jamba Juice for 14 years as senior director of franchise operations. A year later she was promoted to the president and CEO role at the Newport Beach restaurant operator.
Coming up on 27 years, the smoothie, bowl and juice chain has made big strides under the exec’s watch.
The company posted a record $41 million in sales last year, thanks in large part to expanding digital sales and a well-received mobile app.
Along with tracking its loyalty members, which increased 57%, digital orders in 2021 grew by more than 70% to account for 19% of all orders—nearly twice the rate in 2020.
Taylor said the company’s excelled of late by focusing on building engagement and repeat transactions with its customer base. Through the release of the Juice It Up app’s order ahead service, the company grew its loyalty base even more.
“That’s what builds the business too, having an outstanding guest experience, and we’ve focused on that with our franchisees,” Taylor told the Business Journal.
The Team
Other execs at the juice chain include VP of Marketing Natalie Eaglin, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry and previously the director of marketing and beverage for California Pizza Kitchen.
Research and development scientist Noah Burgess has been a “mad scientist” in his efforts to develop new products, Taylor said.
The smoothie restaurant’s leadership team holds over 25 years of restaurant and franchise knowledge.
“All come with experience in other companies, and we are able to leverage our knowledge in systems and processes, Taylor said.
2022 Plans
Juice It Up is currently going through a store design refresh, which debuted at its flagship location along 17th Street in Costa Mesa in 2020.
“We are continuing to make the brand fresh, so it doesn’t look like a 27-year-old brand,” Taylor said.
The refresh includes a menu redesign, following a customer shift towards specialty smoothies, which saw 45% year-over-year growth, and an increased demand for açaí bowls that jumped 38% in units sold.
“There are more graphics that show the different products [in store], and we saw more guests come in and order those products more,” said Taylor.
The chain has plans to introduce its first drive-thru this year.
