Brothers Brandon and Zane Hunt started Via 313 in 2011. | Photo courtesy of Via 313
Via 313 has an unlikely story.
It’s a Texas-based brand that specializes in Detroit-style pizza. It started in a trailer, but has embraced full-service dining as it has expanded.
It’s not the typical restaurant playbook. But it has worked for Via 313, which is now one of the fastest-growing small restaurant chains in the country, with systemwide sales growth of nearly 50% last year, per Technomic data.
Via was founded by Detroit-bred brothers Brandon and Zane Hunt, who relocated to Austin in 2009. Unable to find their beloved Detroit-style pies in the city, they began trying to drum up capital to open a pizzeria. That proved difficult, so in 2011, they settled for a trailer that allowed them to sell pies to-go.
The pizza proved to be a hit with Austinites, and the brothers opened a second trailer. Investors were starting to catch on, and in 2015, Via 313 was able to open its first proper brick-and-mortar. Two more followed with strong results.
By 2020, the brand was searching for a private-equity investor that could supercharge its growth. It found that in Savory Fund, the Utah-based growth chain specialist, which took a majority stake in Via 313. (Savory added another cash infusion this year and brought in other partners to help support the brand.)
Fast-forward five years, and Via 313 has quintupled in size to 25 locations across Texas, Colorado and Utah.
The sheer quality of Via 313’s pizza has played a key role in its growth. Its pizzas are cooked in deep steel pans that give them a thick but crispy crust. They’re topped edge to edge with cheese and then layered with red sauce after baking, so as not to interfere with the crispiness.
Via 313’s Detroit-style pizza is thick but airy. | Photo courtesy of Via 313
Its pizza has been named among the best in the country by outlets such as Food & Wine and the Food Network, and its gluten-free crust has won numerous awards.
The chain is continuing to expand and innovate on the menu. It has added lighter, bar-style pies as well as oven-baked cookies topped with ice cream, which it calls Hub Caps. Next year, it will look to add more appetizers and salads, which have been growing in popularity, said President Kip Welsch.
Another leg of its success has been its full-service operating model, which has become less common in today’s takeout-centric pizza world. The chain’s restaurants feature a full menu of pizzas, appetizers and salads as well as an alcohol program with specialty cocktails. The atmosphere pays homage to the Motor City, with industrial but homey decor.
“I think the guests have identified that this is a fun experience,” Welsch said. “Instead of eating my pizza out of a box at home, I can sit down and be served and have great food and great craft drinks and beer.”
That said, many customers do get their pizza to-go. Off-premise makes up about 45% of Via 313’s sales, and the brand is looking to develop smaller locations for more urban environments with delivery and takeout in mind.
Looking ahead, Via 313 plans to open four or five locations next year and six in 2027, which would put it at around 40 locations. In the near-term, it’s focusing on filling in existing states.
“That’s responsible growth,” Welsch said. “We’re still getting into new markets and generating revenue off of it, not outrunning our talent pipeline and making sure that we can be very successful as we enter these markets.”
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