The 46-year-old franchise Pizza Factory has plans to open up a North Bend location.

The company has 110 locations, 84 of which are franchises, according to the franchise website. Pizza Factory already has nine Washington locations, mainly on the coast and near Spokane, but the North Bend location will be part of its effort to move into central Washington.

CEO Lisa Roscoe said her current growth goals are tied to Washington and Idaho. In October, she visited many towns and made a short list of places she felt would be a good fit for Pizza Factory, with North Bend being one of them.

“The lifestyle and community feel within North Bend, it was just screaming Pizza Factory,” she said. “Many of our most successful stores are in smaller towns. … Our brand resonates with that kind of community, getting people together, family, friends, celebrating — that feel is kind of where we shine.”

Community is a top priority to Pizza Factory, Roscoe said, and it’s important that potential franchise owners feel the same way. Pizza Factories, she said, are not “grab and go” pizza places as much as they are places to gather.

It is very common, she said, for Pizza Factory locations to host parties, provide pizza for the local schools and sponsor kids’ sports teams.

“I often find that really works well in these communities where people are really close and support each other,” Roscoe said. “Our brand kind of resonates with the feeling of these towns — and North Bend, that came through for me when I spent some time there.”

When partnering with franchise owners, Roscoe said she looks for individuals who are local to and invested in the community. Those interested should be on the lookout for upcoming community meetings and can visit pizzafactoryfranchises.com for more information.

“It has to be somebody that really wants to be in the store, working the store, getting out there in the community … and willing to sort of treat the customers like family and friends,” she said. “If somebody is just looking for a passive investment, I would say Pizza Factory is not it.”

A slice of history

In January, investment firm Tucker’s Farm Corporation purchased Pizza Factory and added it to its division called Wonder Franchises.

Tucker’s Farm acquired Pizza Factory from its second-ever owner, Mary Jane Riva. She started as a franchise owner and purchased the company in 2012 from its original owners, Danny Wheeler and Ron Willey, who founded it in 1979. Riva was CEO until July when Roscoe took over.

Roscoe said Riva was ready to retire, but wanted to sell to someone who was “a little less corporate.”

“Wonder focuses on kind of smaller franchises that have good relationships with their franchisees,” Roscoe said. “It’s more of a family feel.”

While Pizza Factory will no doubt continue to grow, Roscoe said it’s important to not lose sight of its beginnings in the process.

“I think our mission is to grow the brand, but without losing what has made the brand sort of successful and very nostalgic for the last 40 years,” she said.

One of the signature features of the brand is its unchanged recipe, which includes homemade dough and sauce and never-frozen toppings.

“People that like our pizza, love our pizza,” she said.