This Is Albuquerque: Pizza 9

\ Mar 03, 2016

4 min read

How did you get started in this business?

After opening his first restaurants in Chicago—and with 30 years of experience in the pizza business—Hass moved to Albuquerque and opened the very first Pizza 9 in southeast Albuquerque with his business partner Rod. The first franchised store opened in 2009 and franchise opportunities are now available in New Mexico and all its surrounding states. There are currently 19 Pizza 9s that are ready to serve you!

What is your business philosophy?

The customer should always leave with a smile. It is important to understand that every customer’s needs are different, and we are here to meet those needs and make them happy. Our customers are our greatest asset. They love our food and come back often. They spread the word to their friends and family to make sure they can experience our quality food and service. We love leaving our customers with a smile on their face and a full belly. We’re motivated by that.

What do you offer that the competition doesn’t?

Fresh. Dough. Made. Daily. That is one of the things we are most proud of in our business. We are happy to provide our customers with delicious, quality food made using fresh ingredients and our own special dough that we make daily! We have a wide variety on our menu including Chicago-style pizza, garden salads made fresh each day, calzones, pizza rolls, hot sandwiches, pasta and amazing desserts. We also have gluten-free pizza and other gluten-free products.

What significant changes have you implemented recently?

We are constantly changing and growing to meet our customer’s wants and needs. We have recently added some healthy options to our menu. Most recently, we have added a new minestone soup that is both vegan and organic!

What successes in the past year are you most proud of accomplishing?

We are extremely happy to continue our expansion. We have more stores under our belt than we had last year and even more coming in the future. We have now added stores in Española, Moriarty and even Amarillo, Texas to our ever-growing Pizza 9 family. Our goal is to expand throughout New Mexico and the surrounding states. We want to put families in a position to own their own business. We are really excited to deliver delicious pizza to even more homes!

We are very proud to have been named “Best Pizza Delivery” in Albuquerque by Albuquerque the Magazine for the third year in a row. We were also honored again as a part of the New Mexico Private 100, which recognizes the Top 100 privately held companies in New Mexico in terms of revenue generation.

What contributions to the community are you most proud of?

We are as involved as possible in the community and we have contributed to many organizations in the area. We love holding fundraisers for local groups, clubs, teams, etc. We are now offering a few exciting fundraising programs that you won’t find anywhere else in the Albuquerque area. Over the past year we were able to donate over $10,000 to families of law enforcement officers that were killed in the line of duty in New Mexico.

How has the Internet affected your business?

The internet has enabled us to be more efficient and reliable to our customers. Our website, www.pizzanine.com, gives information on our business and locations and provides a menu for our customers. Our locations also offer online ordering through our website. Social media also helps us connect with our fans. We love to hear feedback from our customers.

What was your best business decision?

The decision to franchise and create opportunities for families to own and operate their business was our best decision. We are excited to continue expanding throughout the beautiful state of New Mexico and the surrounding southwest states.

What do you look for in prospective employees?

We look for someone with great customer service skills and a positive, upbeat and professional attitude. We also look for a clean driving record in our drivers!