At 16 years old, Bruce Jackson was flipping pizza at the original Johnny’s Pizza in Manlius, New York. He loved the business: serving piping hot pizza — always made with fresh, authentic ingredients — to happy customers, sitting down with the locals on a Friday night for a slice, or feeding the high school football team after a win. He saw opportunity. And he wanted to build his own. Most of our franchise operators are familiar with the feeling.

In three short years, Bruce opened a Johnny’s Pizza just off the Syracuse University campus with Johnny’s younger brother Rosario. After six years of success there, Bruce and a new business partner, Scott Allen, were ready for a move to warmer weather! Atlanta, Georgia is where they landed.

In 1977, Bruce and Scott wrote “Now Open” on a pizza box, stuck it in the front window of their storefront in Atlanta, and started selling pizza. One year later, they opened a second store. As entrepreneurs, they saw bigger potential in the brand and the business model they’d so carefully fine-tuned. In 1994, they officially began to franchise. In 2003, we needed a unique name to operate on a national level. So we gave Johnny a last name, and Johnny Brusco’s Pizza was born!

Now a new generation of leadership is guiding Johnny’s Pizza into the future. Bruce’s son Luke, along with longtime co-worker and now partner, Joanna O’Neill, are working to expand the brand across the southeast and focusing on growth in both the dine-in and online/delivery segments. We’re also focusing on ways to increase individual store volume growth, including new seasonal menu offerings, an expanded craft beer selection and an optional full bar.

As we look into the future of Johnny’s Pizza and Johnny Brusco’s Pizza we want to continue to build upon the strong foundation that Bruce and Scott worked so hard to create, but also adapt to the ever changing restaurant landscape. Recent openings of our refreshed prototype design have proven to be very successful by holding true to our roots but also enhancing the customer’s dining experience. We have also seen great success with our integrated online ordering platform and customer loyalty program as well as partnerships with 3rd party delivery services. As the industry evolves, Johnny’s Pizza and Johnny Brusco’s Pizza will adapt accordingly while holding true to our humble beginnings and not losing track of our goal to become your neighborhood pizzeria. 

If you’re ready to open a Johnny’s Pizza in Georgia, start your application here.

If you’re ready to open a Johnny Brusco’s Pizza outside of Georgia, start your application here.