Riko’s buys two franchise restaurants without adding system locations

Riko’s Pizza completed the purchase of its Merrick and Levittown franchise restaurants August 31, bringing its first franchisee’s two Long Island businesses into corporate ownership.

The September 1 announcement says both restaurants will remain open without interruption, with further investment planned. Riko’s calls the sale a successful exit but disclosed neither transaction terms nor seller financial results. That leaves the operator’s return unquantified. The acquisition announcement

Levittown opened in 2020 as the chain’s first franchised restaurant and first outside Connecticut. The franchisee added Mineola in 2021, then relocated that restaurant to a larger Merrick space in 2023.

Riko’s reports eight corporate and five franchised restaurants after the transfer. It separately plans a corporate restaurant at the Shops at SunVet in Holbrook for 2027.

Riko’s CEO Carl Bachmann previously developed 13 Ruby Tuesday restaurants across Nassau and Suffolk counties, giving the company’s leadership direct operating experience in its target market.

The ownership mix changes within the existing estate#

The August 4 Ridgefield opening announcement reported six corporate and seven franchised restaurants. Comparing the disclosures gives a 13-location system before and after the purchase: corporate ownership rises by two, while franchised ownership falls by two. The Ridgefield announcement

Ridgefield represented new corporate development. Riko’s held its ribbon-cutting July 30 at 955 Ethan Allen Highway, with the town’s First Selectman Rudy Marconi and Chamber of Commerce. The company described the restaurant as its seventh in Connecticut.

The location includes a full-service bar, outdoor patio and private event space. Those features give the business several ways to accommodate guests, from a takeout order to a group gathering in a dedicated room.

The menu extends beyond tavern-style pizza to oven-roasted wings and salads offered in bowls, pies or wraps. Riko’s also described large bars, open dining rooms, outdoor spaces and numerous televisions as features of its restaurant format. The operating business includes the dining and gathering space alongside food prepared for takeout.

Company ownership and franchising developed together#

An earlier announcement shows the company building both ownership models. In July 2023, Riko’s reported four corporate and four franchised restaurants. Its fourth corporate Connecticut location, in Darien, had opened that March. Riko’s 2023 expansion update

The franchise program began a limited launch in 2019 and was moving beyond that phase during 2023. Riko’s had entered Florida with a franchise-owned Tequesta restaurant in 2022.

Two more Florida franchise restaurants, in Pompano Beach and Miami Beach, were then planned for the fourth quarter of 2023. Other signed operators were identifying sites in Austin, Charleston and Suffolk County. Those commitments were at different development stages, rather than all being operating restaurants.

Riko’s also described the management capacity behind its expansion. It had hired Robert Furnari as chief financial officer the previous year, drawing him from Northern Trust’s asset-management business. The announcement said he brought more than 30 years of experience building and managing financial systems.

That history places franchising alongside continued investment in company restaurants and corporate support. The company was developing a home-state operating base while franchisees introduced the brand to additional markets.