Sbarro’s CEO on how he’s completely reinvigorated the brand

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with David Karam, CEO of Sbarro, the New York style pizzeria that is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. While many think of Sbarro as that mall-based pizza chain from the 80s and 90s, the company has quietly roared back to life over the past decade — culminating in four straight years with 100-plus openings, with the fifth virtually assured this year. A lot of that is thanks to David, who has spent almost his entire life in restaurants. His father was one of the first Wendy’s franchisees, and David followed him into the business, eventually serving as president of Wendy’s from 2008 to 2011. He later took the CEO post at Sbarro and eventually acquired the chain, moving it from New York to Columbus and running it with his sons. Sam sat down with David at Sbarro’s headquarters to talk about how he’s reinvigorated a brand that many had left for dead, what he thinks is wrong with the pizza category today, and how Sbarro has identified opportunity in nontraditional locations.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You should lean into your customer’s perception of your brand
• The opportunity to capitalize on the impulse buy is growing
• Any rebranding you do must keep one foot solidly in the past
• Global markets are ripe for franchise growth
• Delivery crippled the pizza category — and drones could make it worse
• Consistently great operational execution separates winners from losers
• Milestones like anniversaries are great opportunities to celebrate with your whole system

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.