Pizza chain planning major move into Inland market

A family-style pizza chain that does business primarily in Northern California is preparing a major expansion in the Inland Empire.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza, which operates  three Inland restaurants –  in Chino, Rancho Cucamonga and Corona – will add more than 40 locations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the next seven to 10 years, according to a company statement.

The first three are expected to open this month in Moreno Valley, Perris and Menifee. Each of those communities is in Riverside County, where Mountain Mike’s has no restaurants and where most of its Inland expansion is slated to take place.

Currently, the Oakland-based chain has only eight sites in Southern California.

The new restaurants will include big screen television sets and a children’s arcade, making them ideal for fundraising events, large family gatherings and private parties.

There is “huge growth potential” in Southern California for a chain like Mountain Mike’s, said Robby Basati, an 11-year Mountain Mike’s franchisee and the owner of the company’s franchise rights in Riverside County and parts of San Bernardino County.

Basati’s franchise team plans to open four to five restaurants a year in the two-county region. “It’s a business opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” he said in the statement. “We couldn’t be prouder to spearhead our growth in these markets.”