Business:

Garlic lovers, rejoice: Round Table pizza returns to Las Vegas

Missed taking bites from King Arthur’s Supreme pizza?

Well, you’re in luck.

Round Table Pizza, beloved by many, is back in Las Vegas.

Franchise owners Shelby Jobe and Chris Carnal decided to bring back the popular California-based chain restaurant by opening a pair of pizza parlors earlier this year.

“We saw it as a good opportunity,” Jobe said. “It’s a California standard, and as more and more Californians move (to Las Vegas), we knew there would be a market.”

The first store, at West Lake Mead Boulevard and North Buffalo Drive, opened March 15. A second location, at South Eastern Avenue and East Warm Springs Road, debuted a month later in a store previously occupied by a Round Table Pizza that closed last year.

Jobe and Carnal said they chose the locations because they made economic sense, given rent and profit potential.

Each store employs 15 people.

This is the first food venture for both owners. Jobe owns and operates a surgery center in Las Vegas, while Carnal is president of Protective Wealth Management in Scottsdale, Ariz. The pair used their retirement savings to fund the venture because they believe in the strength of Round Table and “the comeback of Las Vegas from this latest downturn in the economy,” Jobe said.

Round Table wasn’t absent from Las Vegas for long. The valley's four stores closed in September 2012. The previous franchise owners hit hard financial times.

Jobe said the new stores have posted profits.

“(The success) has been amazing,” Jobe said. “It surpassed our goals. We’re happy with how Las Vegans have responded.”

Jobe and Carnal now want to expand, specifically targeting the southwest and southeast valley. The pair also hasn’t ruled out possible Strip or downtown locations.

“We want to spread out to cover Vegas better,” Jobe said.

Jim Robertson, Round Table’s vice president of franchise relations, said the brand's return to Las Vegas is great for the company, and he looks forward to seeing the chain increase its visibility around the valley.

“It’s very important for us to be in the major cities on the West Coast,” he said. “We really felt like we had a missing city in our portfolio when the Las Vegas stores closed. We’re thrilled to have it back.”

Tags: News , Business
Business

Share