Topper’s Pizza leads by charitable example at the head office level, with franchisees and their staff contributing to their local communities on the ground
By Kym Wolfe
At Topper’s Pizza, engaging with local communities and giving back isn’t just a good thing to do, it’s an integral part of the brand’s business model. The franchise focuses on secondary markets and small suburban areas and expects that franchise owners will be strongly connected to and knowledgeable about what’s happening in their own communities. Franchisees are driven to build strong ongoing relationships with local schools, organizations, and charities, from minor-league sports teams to dance schools.
For more than 40 years Topper’s Pizza has been satisfying pizza lovers’ cravings in neighbourhoods across Ontario. What sets the brand apart starts with its dough—authentic ItalianBread Crust™ made fresh daily, from a century-old family recipe from San Daniele, Italy. And it takes as much care in doling out charitable dough, being authentic in its support of activities and causes that matter to its customers.
Spreading the love
Every Topper’s franchise is run by an owner-operator who is active and engaged in their community (or communities, as there are several multi-unit owners). The ways they give back go beyond simply sponsoring team jerseys or writing a cheque for a cultural or charity event. That might mean being at the championship game to cheer the team on and personally deliver post-game pizza. It might mean showing up to serve the pizza at the school’s year-end banquet. Or it might mean delivering to first responders who are working on Christmas or New Year’s Eve. The chosen activities vary widely from location to location, says Chris Sonnen, president, Topper’s Pizza, as the contributions are unique to the area and the franchisees themselves.
“Topper’s Pizza is not just fast food. We ‘nourish’ our communities to help them thrive, and that helps our businesses thrive,” says Sonnen. “The pizza business is very competitive. When families are making a decision about where to order pizza from, if they know Topper’s Pizza, they’re more likely to do business with us.”
In the past franchisees were involved in province-wide campaigns, like the 2021 Month of Giving, a franchise-wide fundraising campaign to support community mental health through donations to branches of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Ontario. There was also the Feel Good campaign, which raised money for The Hospital for Sick Children (also known as SickKids). The franchise even created a “Topper’s Feel Good Meal” specifically for the annual 10-week campaign, and over the course of four years the initiative raised more than $200,000 for SickKids, which is located in downtown Toronto but provides services to children from across Ontario.
In recent years the franchise has gotten away from the province-wide level of fundraising, instead encouraging franchisees to keep focus on local needs and direct their giving to causes and activities in their own areas.
Scholastic benefits
The franchise has recently developed a sponsorship program that has been successfully piloted in communities across Ontario, with excellent results. When a school board or organization signs on to be part of the sponsorship program, Topper’s begins tracking orders at the head office level. At the end of the year or season, a cheque representing a percentage of sales is donated back to the team, school, or charity. The program enables each Topper’s Pizza location to support a variety of activities, and also sets up relationships that will continue over the long term. “We recognize that community priorities differ in each city,” says Sonnen. “We encourage our franchise owners to be proactive, to go out into the community to make those connections.”
Topper’s Pizza currently has 39 Canadian locations, all in Ontario, and has very aggressive expansion plans in place, says Sonnen. Within the next 18 months the franchise aims to add another dozen pizzerias within the province. They’re also having conversations with potential franchisees in other provinces.
“Canada is rich in secondary markets,” says Sonnen, who expects to see Topper’s pizzerias opening outside of Ontario in 2026. The franchise is looking for owners or ownership groups that are interested in taking on multi-unit agreements and able to open four to five locations in a single market. To ensure that they’re set up to be viable and successful, it’s important to have a large enough presence to raise awareness of the brand, he says, and also for economies of scale. “We feel that four to five stores are needed to kick-start any new area. With that as a starting point, the market can grow organically, adding one location at a time.”
When considering new Topper’s Pizza franchisees, Sonnen says, “We really scrutinize them; we want to ensure they will be a good fit. We are committed to quality growth, and we will only choose someone if we believe they will succeed.”
The ideal franchisee will have good business acumen or the capacity to learn how to operate their own business. Leadership skills are essential, especially to lead a team of 18- to 25-year-olds, as that’s the typical age of Topper’s Pizza employees. They also need to be comfortable being an active participant and developing good working relationships with a variety of people in the community.
“We want to understand who this person is, what they’ve done in the past, both in their career and in life experience,” explains Sonnen. “Do we believe they have the capacity to succeed? Do we believe they will enjoy life as a Topper’s Pizza owner? If it’s not a good fit, we will turn people away.”
The steps to Topper’s ownership
For those aspiring franchise owners who are a good fit, Topper’s Pizza offers a robust training program, proven operating systems, and a committed support team. There are real estate experts to help with site selection, lease negotiations, build-out planning, and construction. Following the initial four to six weeks of training—which includes hands-on experience and covers all areas of operation, from staffing to inventory management to administrative work and finances—there is on-site support during the opening of the new location. There are franchise business consultants available on an ongoing basis to advise and assist, providing resources and support to help both new and established franchisees to be successful.
The franchise is adamant that at least one owner of a location, in the case of group ownership, commits to being a full-time operating partner. “This is not a part-time undertaking,” Sonnen says. “In the first year you will be managing your own pizzeria. If you do that competently, by year-end you should have a good team in place so that you can spend more time out in the community.”
The franchisee’s level of active engagement with and participation in the local community is a factor in Topper’s Pizza formal review. “It’s a part of who we are,” says Sonnen, again emphasizing how integral those connections and giving back are to the Topper’s Pizza brand. “It’s not just goodwill—it’s good business.”
Learn more about franchising with Topper’s Pizza
