Advice from the Founders of Artichoke Pizza on Building a Franchise

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille founded Artichoke Basille’s Pizza nearly 10 years ago and have been growing with the industry ever since.

What were the toughest obstacles you faced when looking to expand the Artichoke brand, and how did you overcome these challenges?

The toughest obstacle we have come across is finding good help and keeping it. It can be challenging to find people who meet the same level of passion as company founders. However, when we find excited and driven employees, we do our best to never let them go. Since the beginning, being family-run and -operated was important to us. Many of our employees have been working in our family’s businesses since the 1980s.

What are the best practices you can offer fast-casual restaurant operators who are looking to build a franchise?

Fast casuals are growing quickly across the country, so it’s important to stand out in the crowd by offering something unique, whether that be the food, the brand or the experience. Pizza has withstood the test of time and will continue to be a fan-favorite for years to come, but Artichoke sets itself apart from other brands by bringing authentic New York slices to markets way outside of New York, like San Francisco. We don’t use conveyor belts to cook our pizzas, and we aren’t offering unlimited customizability like some of the other guys.

Take chances. We started this business on somewhat of a whim and built every part of it from the ground up. We were working at our family’s restaurant in Staten Island and would sneak slices of our now signature artichoke pie into the bread baskets. We received such a great response from customers that we decided to open our own restaurant in Manhattan. Our family thought we were crazy to leave that business to open our own in a tough city like New York, but we were passionate about authentic New York City pizza and took the leap. Now almost 10 years later, it was the best chance we ever took.

What steps do you recommend pizza operators take to make their establishments run more efficiently?

Simplify your menu and don’t try to be everything to everybody. It’s like that old saying — do one thing and do it right. We have stuck to the menu items that we have perfected, that we are known for and that we already know our customers love.

How did you choose which technologies to utilize in your restaurants?

As technologies are constantly evolving and changing every day, we change and evolve with them. We have always worked with user-friendly systems that are the most reliable and easiest to utilize. We always want to be providing the customer with the best and most efficient experience possible. Artichoke locations operate from lunch to dinner to late-night, so we have all types of customers walk through our doors. Our ability to give the guests an easy and streamlined experience starts and ends with the technologies we use, so we try to stay up-to-date with the latest tech and make sure our customers have an enjoyable experience, no matter when they stop by.

How has the restaurant business evolved since you opened your first location?

We have watched the industry transition throughout our entire life, long before the first Artichoke Pizza location. One of the biggest changes we’ve seen between then and now is the rise of social media. It’s leveled the playing field in terms of marketing and advertising. Now, everybody has access to effective marketing opportunities that don’t break the bank. We have customers who visit New York from other countries and come into our shop saying they’ve seen us on social media, and that still blows our mind. That type of thing wasn’t imaginable when we first started.