Two years ago, Donatos Pizza and Red Robin quietly began testing a combination of the two concepts with a scaled-down Donatos pizza menu alongside Red Robin's signature burgers in a handful of Red Robin restaurants.

Today, the franchises are expanding those plans and Donatos' franchise expansion efforts are continuing to take flight as a result, according to a press release.

After seeing how well the pizza did in a few Red Robins in Ohio, Arizona and North Carolina, the partnership now includes nearly 80 locations across five states, with Washington and Colorado added in the last few months. An additional 120 of Red Robin's 500-plus restaurants will get the pizza menus in 2021.

"We had a feeling this had the potential to be a significant partnership for us, and the early returns proved as much," Donatos CEO Tom Krouse said in the release. "After a brief pause during the pandemic, expansion plans have continued. We're extremely pleased as we continue to meet our mutual business objectives."

For Donatos, the relationship has expanded name recognition west of the Mississippi and on the West Coast into cities where the 166-unit chain doesn't yet have a traditional store presence. Meanwhile, for Red Robin, it means a family-friendly menu expansion and a stronger entry into off premise, as well as another way to get more people through its doors, according to the release.

The menu features 7-inch, 10-inch and 14-inch options plus a gluten-free 12-inch pizza. Most of the core Donatos pizzas are represented, including the Serious Cheese, Founder's Favorite, Serious Meat, Very Vegy and the Edge to Edge Pepperoni. There's also a Red Robin exclusive, the Whiskey River BBQ pizza featuring beef, a pizza-sized take on one of the burger restaurant's signature sandwiches.

"Our partnership is bigger than just the complement of pizza and burgers," Krouse said in the release. "Culturally we are very aligned with a focus on people and product. And with pizza and burgers the top two most ordered restaurant fare, it's amazing these two strategies have never successfully intersected before. But this has been a real game changer for the both of us."

Donatos was founded in 1963 in Columbus, Ohio.

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