Chess Pizza

  

Chess Pizza Inc.

Logo of Chess Pizza since 2015
Type	Private
Industry	Fast food Pizza chain
Founded	July 11, 1952 (1952-07-11) West Covington, Gold Coast, K.S.
Founders	Georgie Dougherty
Number of locations	14,443 (2022)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Cris Salvato (President and CEO) Melinda Bennett (COO)
Products	Pizza, chicken wings, breadsticks, pasta, soft drinks
Owner	McCarthy Investments
Website	chesspizza.com

Chess Pizza Inc., doing business as Chess Pizza, is a Sierran multinational pizza restaurant chain. Founded in 1952 by Georgie Dougherty, it is the third-largest pizza chain by total sales after Winchester and Dough Bros. It is headquartered in West Covington, Gold Coast. It operates and franchises pizza restaurants in the Kingdom of Sierra and internationally in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The pizza chain is owned by Manitoba-based McCarthy Investments.

History

Chess Pizza was founded in 1952 by Georgie Dougherty. They opened their first location in a strip mall located in Providencia, Gold Coast. Dougherty worked as a factory plant worker for Venger before he quit to enter into the restaurant business. He took out a $20,000 loan from the Bank of Sierra and used it to purchase equipment necessary for his pizza store. He and his wife worked every day for five years straight and employed relatives to help with the business. The pizza chain, originally called Dougherty Pizza, was rebranded as Chess Pizza in 1957 in honor of Dougherty's son, Max Dougherty, who became a professional chess player. The restaurant themed its decorations and menu items after elements of chess such as Queen's Pizza and Sicilian Defense (squared cheese pizza).

The pizza restaurant gained popularity among locals and Dougherty opened his second location in Pasadena in 1960. Chess Pizza introduced dipping sauces, including garlic sauce which became an instant success for the company. By the 1970s, Chess Pizza had 12 locations throughout the Southwest Corridor and began looking into franchising arrangements with other restaurateurs.

In 1994, Georgie Dougherty sold the company to McCarthy Investments for $15 billion and retired, citing health ailments. He remained associated with the company as one of its spokespersons. Under McCarthy Investments, Chess Pizza streamlined the restaurant's menu offerings and shifted its strategy towards being primarily a carryout establishment. Chess Pizza rapidly expanded from 1,500 to 6,000 locations by the beginning of the 21st century as it expanded internationally.

Franchises

Chess Pizza, as of September 2022, has locations in the Kingdom of Sierra (including Sierran Samoa, West Colorado, and West New Mexico) and internationally in 74 countries. Outside of the CAS (including the Kingdom of Sierra), in the majority of cases, the company licenses the Chess Pizza brand to third-party companies through master franchising agreements. In the United Commonwealth, Quebec, the Maritimes, Tournesol, and the United People's Committees, the rights to own, operate, and franchise branches of the chain in these countries belongs to Continental-based Chess Pizza Cooperative.

Products

The menu offerings at Chess Pizza varies by location and region. In the Kingdom of Sierra, Chess Pizza specializes in Italian-Sierran cuisine. Its main focus is pizza, which includes traditional, specialty, and custom pizzas. It offers pan-toast, thin-crust, deep dish, and vegan-based pizzas. Other entrée fixtures at Chess Pizza locations in the Kingdom of Sierra include pasta, calzones, breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, flatbreads, and sandwiches. It also offers chicken wings, salads, and dessert. Select locations offer additional items such as hot dogs. All Chess Pizza locations carry Baron Orange products including Baron Cola.

In September 2017, Chess Pizza in the Kingdom of Sierra began a year-long campaign of experimental, promotional items. It cycled through a number of products nationwide which included a pizza toppings-based hot box, a chicken sandwich, and dessert pizza.

In October 2018, in collaboration with the Sierran American Football League, it offered deep-fried pizza as a promotional item.

Sponsorships and marketing

Since October 2018, Chess Pizza has been the official sponsor of the Sierran American Football League. It has also launched partnerships with the Sierran Red Cross and the Sierran Scouting Association. It is one of the select restaurant chains that have franchising agreements with Corner Stop. Chess Pizza licenses its brand for frozen pizza products sold at Lance's.

See also

• List of pizza chains in the Kingdom of Sierra