Pizza chain Mellow Mushroom transforms business for better efficiency, experience
Executive vice president of strategy and transformation Ahsan Jiva shares how tech upgrades and a hybrid service model can boost the business.
June 10, 2026
The pizza category had a tough go of things in 2025. According to the most recent Technomic Top 500, pizza was the only menu category to experience negative growth last year, with sales falling 0.3% collectively.
This came a year after the Mexican food category surpassed pizza in sales for the first time; pizza is now the sixth-largest menu category among Top 500 restaurant companies, as measured by sales.
So what’s the problem?
Ahsan Jiva, executive vice president of strategy and transformation for the Atlanta-based company, thinks it comes down to experience. QSR pizza chains have spent the past 30 years chasing convenience and value through off-premises service, and Jiva believes customers are more and more interested in a pizza experience that is fun and memorable.
Mellow Mushroom, which has grown to around 170 locations in 17 states in 50-plus years, is doing its part to create a memorable experience, offering full service and a bar alongside countercultural vibes. But the chain is in the midst of a three-year transformation, which includes kitchen technology upgrades as well as a new store prototype that shrinks the traditional footprint and introduces some counter service components.
Jiva joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to dive into the ingredients making up the brand’s transformation and how the flexible service model is empowering franchisees and GMs to take the business to the next level.
In this conversation, you’ll learn more about why:
Barbell pricing strategies can extend to beverage
Consider the fringes of your menu for innovation
The pizza category may have a use case problem
Pizza also has an experience problem
Chains should consider the jam band approach where no two experiences are alike
No matter how varied your experience is, the brand must be consistent
The best use for new tech tools is to supercharge your GM
Barbell pricing strategies can extend to beverage
Consider the fringes of your menu for innovation
The pizza category may have a use case problem
Pizza also has an experience problem
Chains should consider the jam band approach where no two experiences are alike
No matter how varied your experience is, the brand must be consistent
The best use for new tech tools is to supercharge your GM
Contact Sam Oches at [email protected].
About the Author
Sam Oches
Editor in Chief
Sam Oches is an award-winning Editorial Director with Informa Connect Foodservice and editor in chief of Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. A graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, Sam previously served as Editorial Director of Food News Media, publisher of QSR and FSR magazines. He’s a past president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC) and a past board member with the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). His foodservice insights have been shared in national media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio, and CNBC. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and three kids.
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