Apache Pizza is to create 300 new jobs across Ireland in the next six months as it opens 20 new stores.
The expansion will bring the total number employed by the chain to 2,740 across 190 stores, and follows the opening of 13 new stores and the addition of 195 new jobs in 2020.
The new jobs will include roles as supervisors, managers, customer service representatives and delivery couriers, with Apache also seeking new franchisees.
Chief executive Martin Lyons said the company's drive to be local was behind the expansion.
“Our online sales have grown by 12 per cent because we invested in making online ordering easier and more accessible prior to Covid-19. We capitalised on that throughout the pandemic as people spent more time at home and ordered in,” he said. “Our rapid expansion into cities and towns is also being driven by our ability to offer our business partners a low-level investment opportunity, attractive profitability and a quick return on their investment.”
The pizza chain said it saw sales rise 17 per cent in the first four months of the year, with online sales up 12 per cent in 2020. In total, Irish consumers ordered 5.3 million pizzas from Apache during the lockdown.
“Consumption habits changed during the Covid-19 pandemic and we see the shift from dining out to dining in, the continuation of working from home and this summer’s theme of socialising outdoors as a positive business opportunity as we continue to grow and expand our business,” Mr Lyons said.
This year will see Apache celebrate 25 years in business. The company was founded in 1996 in Dublin by Robert Pendleton and Emily Gore Grimes. Apache is now owned by Food Delivery Brands and franchise operator OKR Group.
