Pizza Corner was an international franchise of

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then take ...

chains that offered a wide range of

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

s and side dishes from chicken wings to

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

s. Pizza Corner operated as both standalone

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearanc ...

or combined with other Global Franchise Architects brands such as Coffee World or Cream & Fudge. Its service formats included: large dine-in restaurants, delivery outlets, express dine-ins, and express kiosks.About Us
Pizza Corner. Retrieved 2012-10-4. Pizza Corner was a brand of Global Franchise Architects (GFA), a

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

-based company that builds, operates, and franchises a specialty

food service The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many ...

brands. All Pizza Corner restaurants and kiosks were designed by ItoramaItorama
Retrieved 2012-10-24. and built by Interbuild Solutions,Interbuild Solutions
Retrieved 2012-10-24. two companies that are part of the Synergia One Group. In 2014, Pizza Corner was acquired by the Indian subsidiary of

Papa John's Pizza Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolita ...

. At the time of the announcement, Pizza Corner had 70 locations. All of the existing restaurants were converted to Papa John's Pizza outlets.

History

Founded by Fred Mouawad, the first Pizza Corner opened in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1996.'ET Review: India's 1st Starbucks outlet'
The Economic Times, 21 October 2012. By 2004, Mouawad had bought out the shares held by his equity partners and formed the Global Franchise Architects. It operated over 100 restaurants and delivery outlets in five countries:

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Partnerships

As with all GFA brands, Pizza Corner utilizes the services of its partners under the Synergia One Group: Synova Foods, for its product development and production and Itorama which manages GFA's restaurant designs, advertising and website development. In 1998, Pizza Corner launched the Food for Good program in association with the Don Bosco Yuva Kendra as part of the initiative to help provide education to 20 deserving street children in Bangalore, India.Food for Good
Pizza Corner. Retrieved 2012-10-4.

Operations

All of the operations in the following countries were ceased after Papa John's Pizza acquired Pizza Corner in India.

Bangladesh

Unlike their Indian counterparts, Pizza Corners in

served a

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...

-friendly menu, including beef. It operated together with existing Coffee World outlets throughout the capital city

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. Accent Group Ltd was the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

owner of Pizza Corner in the country.

China

Pizza Corner's operations in China were concentrated on the tourist-friendly

Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

, especially on the capital city

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

and the seaside district of

Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...

. Emperor Food Franchise Concepts Ltd opened the first Pizza Corner outlet on Hainan Island in 2007.

India

Pizza Corner started operating in 1996 in Chennai. Its market reach spread to much of

southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

and even parts of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

with over 54 pizzerias and express delivery outlets. In 2001 Pizza Corner expanded to the north, opening ten outlets in Delhi.'Bull's Eye Media bags Pizza Corner account'
''The Economic Times'', 1 August 2003. Beef and pork products are not served due to a significant

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

population in the market. Alternative pizza products were developed that use

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

ingredients and pork/beef alternatives like lamb. Pizza Corner India Pvt Ltd was the franchise owner of Pizza Corner in the country..,

Myanmar

Pizza Corner had a store in the Pabedan Township in

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Thailand

Pizza Corner operated two pizzerias in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

and

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

References

External links

*
Global Franchise Architects website

Synergia One Group of Companies website
{{Pizza chains Pizza chains of India Defunct restaurants Defunct restaurant chains Defunct pizzerias Restaurants established in 1996 Companies based in Chennai Indian companies established in 1996 Restaurants disestablished in 2015 Indian companies disestablished in 2015 1996 establishments in Tamil Nadu