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After a few years of expansions, Seattle fast casual pizza chain Mod Pizza now has its first store in Georgia.
As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the new location is in Kennesaw, at the Kennesaw Marketplace mall.
Mod is almost a decade old now (its first location was in Seattle, in 2008), and it has been making a slow march across the country in recent years. The menu structure, which allows customers to customize their own pies, invites the inevitable comparisons to Chipotle, but there are set menu items for the indecisive, most of which are Neapolitan-leaning pizzas (although there are salads, too).
Mod has established itself as something of a socially conscious pizzeria — it has routinely donated opening day proceeds to charities around its new locations, and the Kennesaw location did the same — Monday’s earnings went to homeless shelter and service agency Covenant House Georgia. Interestingly, in 2014, the company introduced a policy of being open to hiring staff with criminal records (presuming they are suitable hires), which it says offers ex-felons a “second chance”.
Expect more Mod in future — the company has found a local franchise partner, Southern Pie LLC, which is committed to opening up multiple Mod locations in both Georgia and Alabama.
