Sauce On The Side

What Sauce On The Side does

Sauce on the Side is a privately-held, founder-led fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, operating approximately 12 locations across the St. Louis metropolitan area, Indianapolis (Carmel and Downtown Indy), and Edwardsville, Illinois. The company's core product is handmade calzones — 20+ signature varieties priced $11.79–$12.79 plus a build-your-own "Fold" option starting at $8.29 — supported by salads, bite sides, desserts (Caramel Apple Pie, S'mores), and a curated local beer and wine list. The operating model emphasizes daily in-house preparation of dough, sauces, and dressings with no freezers on premises, and uses a hybrid counter-order/full-table-service format. Average Unit Volume in 2022 was $1,180,099 (up 12% YoY), with top-quartile units averaging $1,613,302 and average EBITDA of 13.8% on affiliate-owned units.

The business generates revenue across four streams: dine-in service, off-premise channels (takeout, in-house delivery, third-party delivery, curbside pickup — 65% of system revenue in 2021), corporate catering for groups of 20–500 people delivered direct and via EZ Cater, and franchise royalties (5% of gross revenue plus 1% advertising on a $35,000 initial franchise fee, 10-year term). Technology infrastructure is built on the RevelUp cloud-based POS and online ordering platform, integrated with a Comosense-powered loyalty program and a digital gift card manager; owned digital transactions reached 39% of sales in 2021. The brand has received third-party validation including Travel Channel's "#1 Cheesiest Restaurant in America" and QSR Magazine's 40/40 List for 2022, and operates a structured franchise program with documented unit economics (total investment $414K–$704.5K, $200K liquid / $600K net worth requirements) as the primary lever for future multi-unit growth.

Name

Sauce On The Side

Legal name

Sauce on the Side

Website

https://sauceontheside.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sauce on the Side is a St. Louis-based fast casual restaurant chain operating 12 locations across Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, specializing in handmade-from-scratch calzones and generating revenue through dine-in, off-premise, corporate catering, and franchise royalties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast Casual Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Caterers (72232)

akta.pro primary industry

Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls) (THAFABAF)

Keywords

• Fast casual dining
• Handmade calzones
• Restaurant catering services
• Franchise restaurant chain
• Off-premise dining

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Sales: Revenue from customers dining in restaurants with full-service hospitality experience where food is delivered to the table.
2. Off-premise Sales (Takeout, Delivery, Curbside): Revenue from takeout, in-house delivery, third-party delivery, and curbside pickup orders. Off-premise accounted for 65% of system revenue in 2021. Digital transactions grew to 39% of sales.
3. Catering Services: Corporate event and meeting catering with minimum 20 people, serving up to 500 people. Includes mini calzones, full-size calzones, salads, sides, and desserts with delivery and setup services.
4. Franchise Royalties: 5% royalty fee on gross revenue plus 1% advertising fee from franchisees. Franchise fee of $35,000 per restaurant.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sauce On The Side is a St. Louis-based fast casual restaurant chain that sells handmade calzones, salads, and desserts prepared from scratch daily in-house, with no freezers on premises. The company operates 12 dine-in locations across Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, and distributes through takeout, in-house delivery, third-party delivery, curbside pickup, corporate/event catering (20-500 people), and a franchise program with a $35,000 franchise fee and 5% royalty.

Product overview

Sauce On The Side is a fast casual restaurant chain offering handmade calzones as its primary product, with 13 locations in the St. Louis and Indianapolis areas. The core offering consists of 20+ signature calzone varieties (priced $11.79-$12.79) and a build-your-own option called 'The Fold' starting at $8.29. The product portfolio is supported by complementary offerings including salads, bite sides, desserts (Caramel Apple Pie, S'mores), and beer & wine. Additional revenue streams include catering services (20-500 people), a franchise program, delivery/takeout operations, gift cards, and a loyalty rewards program. The company emphasizes fresh, in-house preparation of dough, sauces, and dressings daily without freezers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Signature Calzones

Quantifiable outcome

• Average Unit Volume of $1,180,099 (2022), up 12% year-over-year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EZ CatercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party catering delivery platform that allows customers to order Sauce on the Side catering for events. EZ Cater charges delivery fees for their service.
• RevelUpcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline ordering platform and POS system provider powering Sauce on the Side's website ordering capabilities across all locations.
• Local Beer SuppliersminorOthersLocal craft beer partners including 4Heads Brewing Co., Logboat Brewing Co., Civil Life Brewing Co., Yuengling, and other local breweries featured at locations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Blaze Pizza: Fast-casual customizable pizza chain with counter-ordering, build-your-own format, and strong off-premise/digital ordering mix. Closely comparable on concept, service model, and price point.
• &pizza: Fast-casual pizza concept with counter-ordering, custom-built pizzas, and a strong off-premise/digital focus. Comparable on hybrid fast-casual service model and digital ordering emphasis.
• Pieology Pizzeria: Fast-casual customizable pizza chain with build-your-own format, counter service, and franchise-driven expansion. Comparable on concept, price point, and franchise unit economics.
• MOD Pizza: Fast-casual pizza chain offering customizable personal pizzas with counter-ordering and table-service hybrid model. Directly comparable on category, service model, AUV scale, and franchise structure.

Broad incumbents

• Mellow Mushroom: Established pizza franchise with broader dine-in experience and craft beer focus. Comparable on full-service hybrid model, beer/wine attach, and franchise structure.
• Panera Bread: National fast-casual cafe chain with counter-ordering, table service, fresh-prepared positioning, and strong catering/off-premise channels. Comparable on hybrid service model and made-fresh brand positioning.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill: Largest fast-casual chain, operating a counter-order assembly-line model with strong off-premise and digital channels. Comparable on hybrid service model, digital-first ordering, and franchise-like unit economics for benchmarking.
• Marco's Pizza: Established pizza franchise with broader delivery/carryout model. Comparable on franchise-driven growth, mid-market price point, and pizza-adjacent category overlap with calzones.

Regional players

• Sarpino's Pizzeria: International delivery-focused pizza franchise. Comparable on franchise-driven unit growth, delivery/off-premise revenue mix, and pizza-adjacent category positioning.

Emerging players

• Noodles & Company: Fast-casual chain with customizable bowls and global cuisine focus. Comparable on made-to-order assembly-line format, mid-tier price point, and digital/off-premise channel mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/eatmorecalzones
• Facebookfacebook.com/SauceOnTheSide
• Instagraminstagram.com/sauceontheside365
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sauce-on-the-side-corporate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Sauce On The Side