Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/109754
R E T A I L I N G T O D A Y Bigger slice GOURMET CHAIN MacKENZIE RIVER PIZZA IS EXPANDING IN THE MIDWEST O By Steve Bergsman NE WOULD THINK that William P. Foley II, who created financial-services giant Fidelity National Financial, and who is still its executive chairman, would have quite enough on his plate already, without any new entrepreneurial ventures. One would be wrong. In 2007 Foley formed a restaurant company called Glacier 24 SCT / M A R C H 2 0 1 3 Restaurant Group, in Whitefish, Mont. The new company is parent to the MacKenzie River Pizza Co. and MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub chains. Foley began acquiring his taste for the restaurant business in the late 1990s, when he was chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which owned several eatery chains, including Carl's Jr. and Hardees. He already owned two restaurants in Whitefish — Craggy Range Bar & Grill and Latitude 48 — when he decided to acquire two upand-comers: Ciao Mambo and MacKenzie River Pizza. Glacier Restaurant Group has continued to grow even through the recession. Though there is still only one Craggy Range and only one Latitude 48, there are now four Ciao Mambo restaurants and 16 MacKenzie River Pizza shops. "We don't have any new Ciao Mambo openings planned at this time," said Glacier COO Brad Ridgeway. And that leaves just MacKenzie River Pizza, which Glacier has continued to expand organically. Mark Tache and Christin Cooper opened the flagship MacKenzie River Pizza, in Bozeman, in 1993. Two years later Steve Shuel became a partner, and the company began looking to expand the concept around the state. "MacKenzie River Pizza was able to expand because it hit a niche in Montana that wasn't there yet: gourmet pizza," Ridgeway said. "The founders used fresh sourdough crust. They were the first pizza place in the state to go with pesto, barbecue or olive oil bases along with unique toppings such as sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and mandarin oranges. They really had the only gourmet pizza offering in the state." The mainly brick, roughly