Toledo-based Marco’s Pizza has again been named to the Franchise Times Top 400, the annual ranking of the largest U.S.-based franchise systems, the company announced on Monday, November 2, in a release carried by PR Newswire.
The placement comes as Marco’s eyes its 1,300th store and reports growing interest from some of the country’s largest restaurant franchise operators, according to the company’s release. The Top 400 is compiled through a five-month research and reporting process, and Marco’s said its continued presence on the list reflects its standing as an established national brand with room still to grow.
Marco’s was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ‘Pat’ Giammarco and is headquartered in Toledo, according to the company. It has grown from its Ohio roots to more than 1,200 stores in 35 states, with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Mexico.
Gerardo Flores, Marco’s chief development officer, said in the company’s release: ‘Being recognized among the largest franchise systems in the country is a reflection of the people who build this brand every day: our franchisees, their teams, and the communities that support them,’ he told PR Newswire. Flores added, in the same release, that the company is actively seeking franchisees in underserved markets across the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America.
The numbers behind the ranking include the company’s Franchise Disclosure Document, which reports $1.28 million in average unit volume for the top 25 percent of franchised stores in 2025, according to the release. Three Marco’s franchisee groups were also recently named to the 2026 Franchise Times Restaurant 200, the ranking of the largest restaurant franchisee companies in the country.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: We know the Top 400 recognition, the store count and the 1,300th-store target, all from the company’s November 2 release. What we are still waiting on is where that 1,300th store will open — the release does not name a location — and how many of the next openings land in Ohio.
Marco’s growth strategy leans on experienced multi-unit operators. Its Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program offers early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0 percent for qualified multi-unit operators, along with real estate, construction and operations support, according to the release. Later this month the company also opens an Operations Center of Excellence in downtown Orlando, with a training kitchen and the home of Marco’s University.
The brand’s other recent honors, per the release, include No. 2 on Pizza Marketplace’s 2026 Top 100 Movers & Shakers, a third straight year on the QSR 50, a top-50 spot on Entrepreneur’s 2026 Franchise 500, and recognition on Newsweek’s 2025 America’s Best Customer Service list for pizza chains. The company also notes its dough is made fresh in-store daily with a never-frozen three-cheese blend.
For Toledo, a headquarters brand on a national growth list is the kind of business story the region has been building on. Related coverage: Great Lakes AI Week brings free AI credentials to Toledo Nov. 10-12, and the Toledo Rockets open their season Monday night at Arkansas State.
What happens next: Marco’s continues its push toward store No. 1,300, with its Orlando operations center opening later this month and franchise recruitment underway in underserved U.S. and international markets, according to the company.
That Toledo headquarters story matters locally beyond the ranking itself. Marco’s support-center jobs, its franchisee network across northwest Ohio and its long presence in Toledo neighborhoods make the chain one of the region’s most visible consumer brands — a company founded here in 1978 that still runs a 1,200-store national system from Lucas County.
The menu side of the pitch to operators, per the release, is led by Chef Kathleen Kennedy, with items the company says were developed through extensive testing — including a New York-style pizza it says went through more than 50 rounds of testing, and the returning Margherita Magnifico — alongside a redesigned app and loyalty program meant to keep repeat customers ordering.
The company frames that record as an operator-first story: multi-brand franchisees choosing Marco’s, it says, signals that the fundamentals — communication, onboarding, real estate and operations support — are what experienced restaurant owners are buying, as much as the pizza itself. Whether that pitch keeps converting into signed development agreements is the measure to watch as the 1,300-store push unfolds through 2027.