Murrysville man's pizza shop becomes national franchise

Jim Fox wishes he had a photo of himself standing in front of his first pizza shop.

With more than 200 Fox's Pizza Dens franchised in 19 states, Fox wishes he could look back on those heady days 30 years ago when his career was new.

But, unfortunately, no one could have predicted his success.

"Back then, I was just too busy trying to keep the doors open and get people in there to take pictures," Fox said, laughing.

With another 15 stores under contract to open, and inquiries from prospective pizza entrepreneurs coming in daily, Fox, of Murrysville, spends most of his time these days managing the chain.

His son, Jim Jr., runs three of the franchised stores.

In Plum -- one of the younger Fox's shops -- Fox operates a training center for potential franchisees.

"People come in to get a feel for it," Fox said. "We let them eat the pizza and make a few things to see if they really like it before they spend their life savings on a business like this."

Fox got his training in the same hands-on way. Before he graduated from high school, he worked for pizza shops in Monroeville and Oakmont. After school, he tried a job in banking before returning to the pizza business.

"I worked for Mellon Bank when I got out of high school," Fox said. "But I realized there is no money in banking."

In 1971, Fox opened a pizza shop in the town he grew up in, Pitcairn. He planned to call the new business Pitcairn Pizza.

When he went to get a loan, the banker convinced Fox to call the place Fox's Pizza Den.

The enterprise cost him $500 to start.

More than 30 years later, Fox's name graces 218 pizza shops in 19 states.

Some franchisees are people who grew up in the Pittsburgh area eating Fox's Pizza, who moved to other parts of the country. Others are people who've lost their jobs.

"Right now, we're getting a ton of people who were in upper or middle management who are losing their jobs," Fox said.

For about 99 percent of franchise owners, Fox's Pizza Den is their first business experience.

"That's probably what I'm proudest of," Fox said. "I'm proudest of the longevity of owners and helping young people get started with businesses."

With three stores of his own in the early 1970s, Fox stumbled upon the idea of franchising as a way of helping his friends.

"When I started franchising, there was no such thing as franchising," Fox said.

The first franchisees -- many of whom still own and operate their stores -- were friends who needed better jobs, Fox said.

"They were friends of mine who had dead-end jobs," Fox said. "I told them, look, 'I'm making $50,000 a year in the pizza business. I'll teach you the business.'"

A regular customer, fresh from law school, told Fox he could help him draw up franchising agreements for these new store owners.

At first, franchises spread slowly throughout western Pennsylvania. In recent years, however, they've blossomed across the eastern half of the United States.

Fox said the boom is largely due to the company's Web site.

"Once we got a Web site, I went from sending out info for 10 inquiries a month to sending 30 or 40 a week," he said.

Franchises are popping up so fast, Fox doesn't even update the company's promotional map anymore.

The number of locations weren't the only thing growing over the years, Fox said. In the early 1970s, the pizza business was a simple proposition. Shops served pizzas only, during dinner only, and for customers who ate there or carried them out only.

Now, menus have grown to include more than pizza. Delivery is a must. Lunch service is a major part of each day.

And toppings have multiplied like crazy.

"When I started making pizza in 1959, you could only get four toppings."

Occasionally, transplants from more exotic places ask for odd toppings. Usually, however, people here still want the classics, Fox said: mushrooms, pepperoni and green peppers.

While scouting locations for a new Fox's location in Florida, Fox said he had pizza in a shop that boasted hundreds of toppings. Among the options were celery and peanuts.

"There were a couple of things on there that I didn't even know what they were," Fox said. "Of course, they just had one guy working and one guy driving in that place, so you know they weren't doing such good business."

Fox's business skills have garnered him attention and awards. In 2002, he was the U.S. Small Business Administration Pennsylvania Small Business Person of the Year.

Now, Fox is invited by business professors to speak to students about his success.

"I tell them, 'It's something you don't know how to do. It's hard work,'" Fox said, laughing.

The pizza veteran has a unique injury to show for his hard work, too. He calls it pizza elbow, caused by years of using wooden paddles to haul pizzas from old-fashioned ovens.

"My elbow is shot," Fox said, flexing his arm and holding the offending joint. "It's from all those years of going in and out of the oven. I can't even lift a can of tomato sauce now."

Even with his wealth of experience, Fox said he's still sometimes surprised by what works and what doesn't.

When the big national chains introduced giant-sized pizzas a few years ago, Fox's responded with the Big Daddy. Though the national chains have dropped their monster pizzas, the Big Daddy is Fox's best-selling item, Fox said.

"Why does that work for us, but not them• Who knows."

After more than three decades in business, Fox said his enthusiasm hasn't waned.

Neither has his taste in food.

"I eat pizza every day," Fox said with a smile.