Round Table Pizza is a

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

and franchise of pizza parlors in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. The first Round Table Pizza restaurant was opened in 1959, and the company has over 400 restaurants. The company is headquartered in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Overview

The company currently operates two formats. Traditional Round Table Pizza restaurants serve primarily pizza, salads, and beverages. A new format, Round Table Pizza Clubhouse - Pizza Pub Play, features expanded entertainment with arcade games for children and big-screen TVs with sports programming, as well as an expanded menu and craft beer selection.

History

Round Table Pizza was founded by William R. Larson. Larson was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, on January 30, 1933, and was raised in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. After serving 4 years in the U.S. Navy, Larson worked several different jobs, gaining experience that ultimately led him to create his own restaurant. He opened his first pizza parlor in

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park ( ) is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, California, Eas ...

on December 21, 1959 located at 1235 El Camino Real. He called his new restaurant Round Table Pizza. He named the restaurant Round Table Pizza after the round

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

tables he and his father constructed. This original location in Menlo Park would eventually be moved to 1225 El Camino Real a few years later, where it still stands today and is owned and operated by Bob Larson, William's son. As of 2020, Bob Larson still owns and operates the original Menlo Park location. According to PizzaMarketPlace.com, "William's developed recipe & crust soon brought Round Table Pizza a strong following from customers and entrepreneurs." By 1978 under Larson's direction, Round Table had amassed over 225 stores. In 2011, the company filed for protection under

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

with the U.S. bankruptcy court and emerged from bankruptcy the same year. The Consensual Plan of Reorganization provides for 100% repayment of obligations to its secured and unsecured creditors and for its employee owners to retain 100% ownership of the company. Since then, the company met all obligations and its financial strength steadily improved with the retirement of debt and the increase in cash flow. In 2014, the company signed a 35-store development agreement to build restaurants in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar. As of 2016, more than 450 franchised and company-owned locations were in

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Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. On September 15, 2017, Round Table Pizza announced that it was acquired by Global Franchise Group. In the same month, September 2017, Round Table Pizza closed all of the seven branches in Dubai. In 2019, Round Table Pizza

rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

on its 60th anniversary, including a new logo and a new motto: "Pizza Royalty". The chain also expanded to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for the first time in 2019, with new locations in Frisco and near the

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

campus in University Park. On June 28, 2021, Global Franchise Group announced that it would be acquired by

FAT Brands FAT Brands Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. History FAT Brands began as a holding company for Fatburger in 2017, gaining a chairman in Ed Rensi. On August 13, 2020, Johnny Rocket ...

, owners of

Fatburger Fatburger North America Inc. (doing business as Fatburger) is an American fast casual restaurant chain owned by FAT Brands. Its tagline is ''The Last Great Hamburger Stand''. While it is a fast-food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to o ...

and Johnny Rockets. The acquisition was completed on July 22.

Marketing

Round Table Pizza - October 2024 - Sarah Stierch 01

William Larson penned the slogan for Round Table "share a little pizza with someone you love." This was later changed to "The Last Honest Pizza." In 1961, a friend of Larson's drew some sketches of members of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

's court eating pizza, and Larson then adopted the King Arthur theme for his restaurants.Company website
. Retrieved January 12, 2007. The three banners in the official logo were added in 1970, and are intended to symbolize the letters "F-U-N". Round Table Pizza began to expand through franchising. Larson sold a portion of Round Table stock to a group of investors in 1979. The investors formed an

employee stock ownership plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

in 1985, and by 1992, Round Table Pizza was wholly employee owned. Larson sold about 75% of the private franchise corporation to partners in 1978. In 1995 the controlling partners bought out Larson's remaining 25%. From around 2003 until 2005, Round Table Pizza's official mascots were two

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s, Matt and Marcus, that appeared in the company's television commercials. In 2007, Round Table Pizza's mascot became the Pizza Knight, "defender of family night." Since that time, other spokespersons have been featured, including actor Billy Gardell.

References

External links

Official website

Round Table Pizza at entrepreneur.com
{{Use mdy dates, date=January 2024 Food and drink companies based in Atlanta Restaurants in California Economy of the Western United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Pizza chains of the United States Pizza franchises Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011 Restaurants established in 1959 1959 establishments in California American companies established in 1959 2017 mergers and acquisitions category:Menlo Park, California

Overview

History

Marketing

See also

References

External links