The cheddar-topped, Caribbean flavour-ed pizzas of Trinidad’s pizza king Mario’s, is coming to Guyana in July under the Church’s Chicken franchise.
Mario’s Pizza, which serves up a range of pizzas and burgers in addition to Boomers’ salads and sandwiches, will add to the landscape at the junction of Camp and Middle streets directly opposite Church’s.
Terrence Campbell, local franchise holder of Church’s Chicken, told Stabroek News yesterday that the investment is being made because the local fast food industry is still underdeveloped, noting a few outlets that have branches outside the city. Since Church’s opened its doors in the city about two years ago, it has opened two outlets in Berbice with a third set to open in three weeks, and one is in Linden. Additionally, a second city branch is located at Hinck Street.
Campbell said the Mario’s Pizza investment is significant and he is not currently working with a budget. “This is not like when I was opening Church’s and there was a budget because I will not open until I am satisfied that we are ready to but I am pushing for the end of July in time for Carifesta,” he said.
Campbell said he had been in discussions with Mario’s for two years about bringing the franchise here. He said too additional time was spent leasing the property and getting approval for renovations. To date, the building has almost been dismantled and renovations are ongoing on the roof and floor.
The lower flat of Mario’s Pizza will house the kitchen and dining area while the upper storey will house a play area and two party rooms that would be available for rental.
Campbell said the eatery would be unlike anything people have seen in Guyana, from the infrastructure to the menu. He added that many of the food items such as the mushrooms, cheese and olives would be imported.
General Manager of Mario’s Pizza in Trinidad Marcel Van Reeken, who was here on a business trip, told this newspaper that Mario’s has built a name in the industry for serving up excellent pizzas with a distinct Caribbean flavour.
He said while the US pizza outlets use mozzarella cheese, Mario’s uses cheddar. Van Reeken said too they only plan to use Caribbean spices, which add to the flavour. Additionally, he said Mario’s Pizza offers a range of toppings and serves up a variety of pizzas including beef.
Mario’s Pizza was opened in 1972 in Trinidad and Tobago and is known as the Pizza king on the island. There are currently 18 outlets across the country and more recently another eatery, Boomers, was opened under the franchise.
Van Reeken said Boomers now has eight outlets in operation. He said the franchise was opened in Grenada two years ago and has been doing well there. Van Reeken added that they expect the same success in Guyana especially since many Guyanese were already familiar with the brand.
