A new pizza place is open for business in south Grand Forks.
Marco's Pizza opened Jan. 25 at 3901 S. Washington St., taking up about 2,100 square feet of the former Grand Storage building that was converted to a strip mall with room for three businesses.
Local owner Joe Deck, 45, said he originally planned to hold a "soft opening" by sending out fliers to some south Grand Forks residents, allowing the customer base to build slowly.
But he said word of mouth spread quickly, and just one week after opening, the restaurant is already outperforming projections set by the pizza franchise's officials.
"We actually started our grand opening a little earlier than we wanted to do basically from the demand we were seeing out there," he said.
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Deck said the restaurant will offer grand opening deals for the next five or six weeks to introduce the menu to as many local residents as possible.
Marco's Pizza is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The restaurant offers a variety of pizza, chicken wings, subs and salads and has seating for about 40. Customers also can choose from delivery and carryout.
Deck said delivery is now limited to Grand Forks, but the restaurant could expand delivery to East Grand Forks.
Expansion plans
A native of southern California, Deck has lived in Grand Forks for about 10 years and previously was one of the original owners of a management company that operated Applebee's restaurants across North Dakota.
He and a group of local investors secured the development rights for Marco's Pizza in North Dakota and northern Minnesota last year. Deck said the group will open a total of 12 locations across the region within the next five or six years.
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza was founded in 1978 and now has more than 280 restaurants in 21 states and the Bahamas. More than 900 new locations have been signed across the U.S.
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The Grand Forks restaurant is the first Marco's Pizza to open in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Deck said he hopes to open a Marco's in central Fargo as early as the mid-summer, and the investor group also is looking at a location in West Fargo.
"We've got the sites located," he said. "We're just negotiating on leases right now."
There also have been "lots of inquiries" about opening restaurants in Bismarck, Mandan and Valley City, N.D., he said.
Johnson reports on local business. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send email to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
