Round Table Pizza Cleans House. The Miami Herald reports that after a few rocky years with its franchisees, Round Table Pizza is working on an expansion strategy. Round Table is a 512-unit chain of pizza restaurants headquartered in Concord, California. Round Table's growth peaked at 545 restaurants in 1988. In 1996, in the midst of Round Table's plans to expand the franchise, some Round Table franchisees initiated a lawsuit against the franchisor seeking a longer franchise term, explanation of the franchise fees and less restrictive covenant not to compete. The company resolved some of these disputes in mediation and elected to improve the look of its existing stores in lieu of expansion. As part of the process, Round Table repurchased a number of the older locations -- it now owns 23% of its entire chain. Now, despite the tough conditions for pizza restaurants today, Round Table plans to roll out 30 new restaurants in the next year.
Posted by franchiselawblog at December 18, 2003 01:29 PM