Chief Executive Officer Jack Butorac Jr., in announcing this week that sales at stores open at least a year were up 6 percent through Oct. 31, singled out company performance in northeast Ohio. "The largest market gain was in Cleveland/Akron where we recorded a 16 percent increase for 2004 over the previous year," Mr. Butorac, a long-time restaurant industry executive, said yesterday.

Marco's is the nation's No. 30 pizza chain with sales last year of $65 million, according to the industry publication Pizza Today. It is the largest player in the Toledo market with 24 outlets. The chain is on track to achieve the CEO's goal of quickly doubling the 123 stores at the time of the sale, officials said.

Executives have their sights on 500 stores within 5 years, Mr. Butorac added. The first of 10 stores opened last week in the Las Vegas area. The chain has 130 stores now. Based on the recommendations of an outside consultant, Marco's initially will concentrate on areas where it has stores.

Marcos plans on an additional 100 units for Ohio, Michigan, Fort Wayne, Ind., and selected other markets, said Ron Hingst, a spokesman in Ann Arbor. Marco's founder Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco, who as part of the sale last January retained ownership of Toledo area stores, was unavailable for comment yesterday. He continues to oversee product development at the parent organization. Mr. Butorac and the investment group he leads acquired the "franchising rights" to Marco's. But that gave them effective control of the organization, officials said. The purchase price wasn't disclosed.

Mr. Giammarco, who started the chain in 1978, is a shareholder in the firm. Besides Mr. Butorac, the ownership group includes several members of management and two undisclosed investors in Louisville.

The new owners are operating the chain under the name Marco's Franchising LLC at its existing headquarters at 5252 Monroe St. in Toledo's Franklin Park area. Mr. Butorac, 56, is a former chief executive of Tumbleweed Inc., a chain of Southwestern restaurants based in Louisville, Ky.

He was part of an investment group that bought the chain from its founder in 1995. He left the firm four years ago. He also has served as an executive with Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurants and the Fuddruckers burger chain. He has long ties to Louisville and maintains dual residences there and in Toledo, but does not plan to move the Marco's headquarters there, he said.

To oversee franchising, he brought in executives who served similar roles at A&W Restaurants and Long John Silver's during the rapid growth of those chains. Before acquiring Marco's, he served as a consultant to the chain. Mr. Butorac said he regrets passing on a chance to get involved early on with the successful Papa John's pizza chain, but said Marco's has similar potential. "I saw a company that had a very strong foundation and an opportunity to build and expand on it," he said of Marco's.

Source: marcos