Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Every aspect of my MOD experience impressed me.
- MOD Pizza is America's fastest-growing restaurant chain.
- I went to the MOD Pizza in Bellevue, Washington, to see what the dining experience was like.
- I was impressed by the food's customizability, the ingredients' freshness and quality, and the efficient yet personal assembly-line format.
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Seattle-based MOD Pizza is the fastest-growing restaurant chain in America in terms of systemwide sales, according to Nation's Restaurant News. It saw 44.7% sales growth in 2018.
Founded in 2008 by wife-and-husband duo Ally and Scott Svenson, MOD Pizza came to life after the couple noticed a need for casual, speedy, and healthy pizza options.
As a teenager, I'd eaten at the location in my hometown's strip mall, way back when MOD was a local Seattle chain. It was exciting because it was the first pizza place I'd been to that served fully customizable personal pizzas.
Since then, MOD has become an international phenomenon, with over 400 locations across the US and the UK. It has also fully embraced a purpose-driven business model, with a focus on hiring for impact and investing in its staff's professional growth.
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It had been years since I'd last eaten at a MOD Pizza, so when I went home to Seattle, I decided to stop on in and investigate what was behind its meteoric rise in popularity: