The University of Georgia just recently announced the 2016 Bulldog 100 List, the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Companies are ranked based on compounded annual growth rates for recent years and a number of different types of businesses are on the list, finance companies, veterinary services and restaurants.
The top-ranked restaurant on the 2016 list is a pizza company called Your Pie begun by a 2005 UGA grad and Alpharetta native, Drew French.
The first Your Pie opened in 2008 and has since expanded across the country. The concept for the first fast casual pizza restaurant began in May 2006 while French was on his honeymoon in Italy and was inspired to cook pizzas in brick ovens. Visiting his wife’s family on the island of Ischia, Drew fell in love with the brick oven style of baking pizza, and the rest of the Your Pie concept grew from that experience.
In an interview with InsiderAdvantage, French says he started working in restaurants when he was 15 and in different restaurants until he was 24 and opened Your Pie. A 24-year-old planning to open his own restaurant might be greeted with skepticism but French says his family was very supportive. French thinks everyone else might have thought he and his family were crazy for going for it but ironically, 2008 turned out to be a good time to be invested in something other than the stock market and Your Pie hit the ground running.
With over 30 locations now, including one in Chicago, French and the Your Pie franchises have sold millions of pizzas to diners seeking a new kind of pizza joint. In 2014, Your Pie was identified by CNBC as one of nine pizza franchises to watch.
In 2015, Sofo Foods reached out to French to enter the 2015 Pizzaiolo Ultisimo (Ultimate Pizza Makers Challenge) competition and perhaps earn a spot at the World Championships in Parma, Italy. French won the competition with his original recipe using fresh Georgia peaches, hand-tossed dough and prosciutto. The world competition happens April 9-15 in Parma.
In getting ready for the world competition, French says he’s just trying to stay current. “I’m just trying to keep my pizza skills current heading into the competition,” says French. French has some clues as to the ingredients he’ll use, “I hear they like parmesan cheese over there, so I’ll be using that ingredient for sure. Other than that, I’ll probably see what is interesting and fresh in the local markets when I get over there.”
French is also hoping for some extra time while on his next Italian trip. “We are hoping to catch some summer music tours if it works out. We may sneak down to Ischia if time allows. It’s our 10 year wedding anniversary, so we are excited about that.”
