Garlic Jim's Famous Gourmet Pizza(R) Opens First Florida Location In Tampa.

By: Garlic Jims | 9 Shares 344 Reads

December 20, 2007 // Franchising.com // Citrus Park, FL – Garlic Jim's Famous Gourmet Pizza, the first and only "gourmet" carry-out and delivery pizza chain, is proud to announce their first Florida store opening. On December 18, 2007, Citrus Park, FL franchisee Brett Larabee will open the doors to Florida's first Garlic Jim's store, in front of Wal Mart at the corner of Gunn Highway and Henderson Road.

"The first Florida opening is right in line with our national expansion plans," says Dwayne Northrop, CEO, Garlic Jim's. "Our philosophy of 'Gourmet, Right Away!' is infectious and as we continue growing throughout the United States, I envision a Garlic Jim's in every community.

The Citrus Park store is located at 6102 Gunn Highway in Tampa. Larabee's location will be open every day from 11 am – 11 pm. For more information, contact the store directly at 813/961-7000.

ABOUT GARLIC JIMS
In the $33 billion dollar-a-year, highly competitive U.S. pizza industry, Garlic Jim's Famous Gourmet Pizza is proud to be the first pizza franchise to focus on quick delivery pizza made fresh with gourmet toppings. Garlic Jim's in-store system and team member training allows them to make pizza in 15 minutes or less "from order to out the door," thus pioneering the concept "Gourmet, Right Away."

At Garlic Jim's the term 'gourmet' signifies more than just the finished pizza – it refers to the finest ingredients: fresh packed sauces, fresh 100% whole-milk mozzarella and fresh dough made daily, where the customer can certainly taste the difference. Garlic Jim's offers customers two crust choices; hand-thrown thick, made with parmesan cheese and buttermilk, or garlic thin; four cheese options: 100% whole-milk mozzarella, cheddar, feta and grated parmesan; seven sauces: classic red, garlic basil, basil pesto, zesty chipotle pesto, creamy ranch, smokin' sweet BBQ or garlic-infused olive oil, and a variety of meats, vegetables and gourmet toppings such as roasted garlic, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted corn and sun-dried tomatoes.

With gourmet pizzas such as Nutty Chipotle™, zesty chipotle pesto topped with spicy sausage, pepperoni, red onions, tomatoes and cashews, Jim's Gourmet Garlic™, basil pesto sauce, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese, and Chicken Bacon Ranch, grilled chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, red onions and creamy ranch sauce, Garlic Jim's is putting a new spin on pizza. "We've gone out of our way to source the best ingredients available to create our specialty pizzas and as a result we also have the best tasting pepperoni pizza you will ever find," says Northrop.
Garlic Jim's has grown from two open stores in 2004 to 48 open stores and a total of 111 franchises sold as of September 2007. In addition to current locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington, Garlic Jim's has units under development in Florida, Tennessee and Texas. With projections of doubling in size in 2008, Garlic Jim's is sure to become the fastest growing gourmet pizza franchise in the country. In the September 2007 issue of Pizza Today Magazine, Garlic Jim's is named 96 on their Top 100 Companies list, an amazing number for the up and coming franchise. For more information on Garlic Jim's pizza and franchising, visit their Web site at www.garlicjims.com, or call 866-918-jims (5467).

###