Page 68 - BWM Dec 2012

68 | Business World Magazine | December 2012
From its humble origins 50 years ago in
the south end of Columbus, Ohio, Dona-
tos Pizza has emerged as an ever expanding
franchise comprised today of 158 locations
throughout seven states. These numbers are
complemented by a more significant figure
derived from monitoring data that indicates
respective units, on average, yield returns
40% percent higher than competing coun-
terparts. The consuming public loves pizza,
yes, but Donatos CEO Tom Krouse leaves
no wonder as to why so many foodies are es-
pecially fond of Donatos. From his perspec-
tive, the explanation is a blend of operating
principles and, go figure, pepperonis too.
According to Krouse, the success Do-
natos has achieved all culminates from early,
educational experiences of company founder
JimGrote. At only 13 years old, Grote began
working in a Columbus Ohio pizza shop that
was run and managed by two proprietors
with exceedingly different personalities. One
was very people oriented and the other was
something of a penny pincher. The first often
exceeded expectations of customers with his
lovingly liberal application of toppings. The
cost-conscious other was miserly with moz-
zarella, particularly parsimonious with the