Another big-name fast food enterprise promises to whet local appetites with delicious pies when Mario’s Pizza opens its doors shortly.
The pizzeria is expected to offer a variety of pies and toppings with more spice to cater to the local palate. Headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago where it operates 18 restaurants, Mario’s Pizza also plans to offer specialty pizzas and burgers, a salad bar, as well as birthday packages for children. It will also be reproducing its line of subs called “Boomers”.
On Saturday Stabroek News was given a tour of the restaurant located at Middle and Camp streets, opposite Church’s Chicken. Finishing touches were still being made, but franchise holder Christopher Campbell said the restaurant was billed to open tomorrow. The restaurant boasts an external dining area, a general dining area, points of sale, two rooms on the top flat earmarked ‘kiddy party rooms’ where birthday parties could be held with the company preparing everything at a cost to customers. The upper flat also contains a play area for children that would allow parents to enjoy the bar and keep an eye on their kids.
Mario’s has already set up its high-tech pizza making machines and has also started to make pizzas for testing in time for its grand opening. Campbell, who is also responsible for the Church’s restaurants, said Mario’s would open other branches in areas where Church’s Chicken is available. The two entities will share the same location. Campbell also said the company intends to be sensitive to different cultures and religions and would provide the toppings best suited to match each.
Roger Harford, the son of the founder of Mario’s Pizzeria Richard Harford, is optimistic that Guyanese would love the new pizzas. He boasted that the company’s pizzas are 20% bigger and have more toppings than the competition.
He said in 2005 the company opened a restaurant in Grenada and it has been receiving positive feedback. Harford hopes that the Guyana franchise will reap the same returns.
Mario’s Pizzeria was has been in existence in 1972.
