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The cliche of the retired jock struggling in a post-sports career doesn't apply to former major league baseball player Matt LaPorta.
At least that's what LaPorta, a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians for parts of four seasons, seeks with Pie Five Pizza.
Suburban Dallas-based Pie Five, a fast-casual pizza chain, recently awarded LaPorta and several business partners 18 franchise units in a territory that spreads from Pasco County to south Sarasota. A Charlotte County native who was an All-American and NCAA home run leader at the University of Florida, LaPorta and team will start opening the stores early next year, according to a release. LaPorta's business partners in the venture include fellow MLB retiree Josh Fields and restaurateurs Brandon Birdwell and Jeff Engle.
“What can I say, what Italian doesn't love pizza? For the longest time I've wanted to open up a cool pizza place like this,” LaPorta says in the statement. “So when Josh told me about Pie Five, and my family and I tried it out for ourselves, I knew this was it. The operational model is excellent, the company's leadership is top notch and the food is fantastic.”
The Pie Five model is to serve personal-size pizzas made-to-order with a variety of ingredients and toppings in less than five minutes. The chain, named a 2012 Hot Concepts winner by Nation's Restaurant News, currently has 21 locations in six states, including a Florida store in Volusia County. It also has nearly 200 announced franchise locations under contract in 13 states and Washington, D.C.
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