Antioch

What Antioch does

Antioch Pizza Shop is a privately held, family-owned pizza franchise founded in 1977 by Art and Karen Wicklein in Antioch, Illinois, operating under the legal entity Wix Franchise, Inc. The company sells a multi-format menu centered on hand-kneaded dough made fresh daily, premium California and Wisconsin cheeses, and unchanged 1977 recipes, with additional items including Italian beef sandwiches, pasta, wings, salads, Vienna beef hotdogs, and a signature breakfast pizza. It serves families, college students, sports teams, community organizations, and corporate catering clients across the Midwest and expanding Southeast markets, distributing via dine-in restaurants, takeout/delivery, express units, food trucks, online ordering, and third-party delivery platforms.

The franchise monetizes through initial franchise fees of $20,000 to $40,000 depending on format (food truck, express, full-service dine-in, or full-service takeout/delivery), ongoing monthly royalties of 5% of gross sales, a 1% marketing services fee, and a minimum 1% local marketing expenditure, supplemented by company-operated store sales, catering revenue, and branded merchandise. As of 2024, the network spans 40+ locations across 13 states with average franchised gross sales of approximately $1.08 million per unit, and 2025 expansion includes the first Chicago (Gladstone Park) location plus pipeline sites in North Carolina, Texas, and additional Illinois markets.

Antioch differentiates on community positioning, executing more than 250 local fundraising events annually (raising over $50,000 for schools, churches, and sports organizations), operating licensed product partnerships at venues such as Cowboy Jack's and Sally's Saloon, and winning the Chicago Pizza Madness Tournament in 2024 against established regional competitors. The leadership team remains founder-led, with the next generation (Matt Wicklein) and long-tenured operators (Andy Spencer, James Lloyd, Amy Djus, Kyle Schaefer) running franchise sales, training, construction, HR, and purchasing functions.

Name

Antioch

Legal name

Wix Franchise, Inc.

Website

https://antiochpizzashop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Antioch Pizza Shop is a family-owned pizza franchise founded in 1977, operating 40+ locations across 13 US states via dine-in, takeout/delivery, express, and food truck formats. It serves families, college students, and community organizations through franchise royalties, direct sales, catering, and licensed venue partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pizza Restaurant Franchise

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Pizza QSR (THAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC), Pizza Fast Casual (THAFABAB), Pizza, Wings & Oven-Baked Prepared Foods (In-Store Concepts) (CRAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Pizza restaurant franchise
• Casual dining services
• Food catering services
• Restaurant franchise opportunities
• Community fundraising programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Antioch

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Traditional sit-down pizzeria with full menu and seating, generating revenue from walk-in customers dining in
2. Takeout and Delivery: Customer orders via phone, online, or third-party platforms for pickup or delivery
3. Catering Services: Corporate events, parties, family events, and weddings with party packs and bulk menu items
4. Franchise Fees and Royalties: Initial franchise fees ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 depending on format, plus ongoing 5% royalty and 1% marketing services fee on gross sales
5. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise sold through online storefront

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Family-owned pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977, operating dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and licensed-partnership services across 40+ locations in the Midwest and Southeast US. Also sells branded merchandise online and licenses its brand through four franchise formats (full-service dine-in, takeout/delivery, express, and food truck).

Product overview

Antioch Inc. is a robotics software testing startup that has developed a cloud simulation platform. The company's core offering is a digital twin platform that enables virtual testing of AI-powered robotics systems, eliminating the need for lengthy physical testing cycles. Founded by Stanford University alumni, the company aims to democratize physical-world AI development by reducing costs for smaller firms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full-Service Pizza Restaurant Operations

Quantifiable outcome

• Franchised Antioch Pizza shops averaged $1,081,808 in gross annual sales in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cowboy Jack'sminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed partnership where Antioch Pizza products are served at Cowboy Jack's locations including Downtown Minneapolis, Bloomington, Plymouth, and Otsego (Minnesota), and Altoona (Wisconsin)
• Sally's SaloonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed partnership where Antioch Pizza products are served at Sally's Saloon location in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Home Run Inn: Chicago-based pizza chain with 60+ locations, competing in the same Chicago metropolitan market. Directly comparable as a family-owned Chicago pizza brand that Antioch defeated in the 2024 tournament finals.
• Jet's Pizza: Detroit-style pizza franchise with 400+ locations across 20+ states. Comparable as a regional franchise pizza chain with deep-dish/square style focus expanding from Midwest roots to national footprint.
• Giordano's: Chicago deep-dish pizza chain with 60+ locations across multiple states. Directly competes with Antioch for Chicago pizza market share, particularly in the stuffed/deep-dish category.
• Marco's Pizza: Fast-growing franchise pizza chain with 1,200+ locations across 30+ states. Directly comparable as a multi-format franchise pizza concept targeting similar franchisee profiles and operating with comparable average unit volumes.
• Lou Malnati's: Iconic Chicago deep-dish pizza chain with 70+ locations primarily in Illinois and Arizona. Directly competes with Antioch in the Chicago market for premium pizza positioning and consumer mind-share in the same metropolitan area.
• Aurelio's Pizza: Regional Chicago-style pizza franchise with locations across Illinois, Indiana, and Florida. Directly comparable as a family-owned regional pizza franchise that Antioch defeated in the 2024 Chicago Pizza Madness Tournament.

Broad incumbents

• Papa John's: National franchise pizza chain with 5,000+ locations. Comparable as a franchise-led pizza operator, though significantly larger scale, broader geographic footprint, and stronger digital infrastructure than Antioch.
• Domino's Pizza: Largest US pizza chain by retail sales with 6,500+ US locations. Serves as the dominant franchise pizza benchmark for average unit volume and digital ordering infrastructure that smaller chains like Antioch must compete against.

Emerging players

• MOD Pizza: Fast-casual pizza franchise with 500+ locations and strong digital ordering. Comparable as a tech-forward franchise pizza concept that competes for the same younger demographic Antioch targets in college markets.
• Blaze Pizza: Fast-casual custom pizza franchise with 300+ locations backed by institutional capital. Represents an emerging format threat in college-town expansion markets where Antioch is opening new locations like Tuscaloosa.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AntiochPizzaShop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/antioch-pizza-shop-franchise
• Instagraminstagram.com/antiochpizzashop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Antioch