Northern Kentucky-based Snappy Tomato Pizza has announced Tim Gayhart, current franchise owner of five locations and area developer of 13 stores, will become the Company’s new owner.
“I am excited to begin this new chapter in my career, having started 30 years ago with a loan of $20,000 for my first Snappy franchise to now owning the company,” said Gayhart. “It is truly a blessing to be in this position. The opportunity to do more of what I love to do is the reason I wanted to take a bigger slice of the (pizza) pie.”
Tim Gayhart
Gayhart is a Cincinnati native who now lives in Union. He will purchase Snappy Tomato Pizza from its current owner, The Deters Company, for an undisclosed amount. Gayhart has owned a Snappy Tomato franchise since 1991 and served as an area developer since 2001. In the transition, Gayhart will take ownership of the company’s Burlington flagship location. The Burlington store, along with Gayhart’s locations in Villa Hills, Richwood, Dry Ridge and Indiana sites in Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun will all become corporate-owned.
Gayhart plans to provide overall support, guidance and resources for all forty-four locations across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and New Mexico. He will also be the franchisor of the first new franchise of his tenure, now under contract to open in LaGrange later this fall.
“Having worked with Tim (Gayhart) for more than thirty years, I instantly knew that the very moment he expressed interest in buying the company, it was a great fit,” said Jeremy Deters, President of The Deters Company. “Tim knows the pizza business and this company inside and out; I am excited to see where he takes Snappy, because with Tim’s passion and commitment… the sky’s the limit.”
The pizza industry continues to expand across the United States. Americans spend $46 billion a year on pizza, according to PMQ Pizza Magazine. Food Business News estimates that 30% of Americans eat pizza at least once a week. In the United States, it is estimated that an average of 350 slices of pizza are sold every second of every day.
The Snappy Tomato Pizza corporate headquarters will remain in Burlington alongside the flagship store location. The corporate staff, over 900 current employees, management and 31 franchisees throughout the country will remain intact during the ownership transition.
Gayhart said the company will focus on continuing the service and growth already established while increasing the footprint in existing markets.
“We hope to grow our store count by ten units over the next three years by emphasizing the award-winning sauce, the unique line of BEAST pizzas and the memorable Mr. Snappy logo,” he’s said. “The table is set for instant success.”
Snappy Tomato Pizza was founded in 1978 in Fort Mitchell as a single independent Italian pizzeria and has grown into forty-five locations across five states: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and New Mexico.
Snappy Tomato Pizza
