Ohio-based Marco’s Pizza is rapidly expanding its national footprint and has its sights set on several fast-growing markets in the Southeast, including Charlotte.

Local expansion is part of a company-wide goal of opening more than 300 additional locations “in the coming years,” the company said in a statement this week. New franchise locations would create about 6,000 new jobs.

The company, which currently operates more than 600 stores, is already planning to open 35 locations within a year, and new restaurants in North Carolina already are being developed in Burlington and Clayton. The chain said it’s on track to quadruple its store count in the next five to seven years.

In addition to Charlotte, Marco’s area representative, Woody Johnson, is seeking franchisees in Atlanta, Savannah, Ga., Birmingham, Ala., Mobile, Ala., Orlando, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Tampa, Fla., Tallahassee, Fla., Miami, Pensacola, Fla., and Charleston, S.C.

“With recent population booms and a rising economy, the Southeast is an exciting development region for Marco’s Pizza,” Cameron Cummins, Marco’s vice president of franchise development, said in the statement.

According to its website, Marco’s operates eight Charlotte-area restaurants, and another two are coming soon to Fort Mill and Kannapolis.

Marco’s Pizza, founded in 1978 by native Italian Pasquale Giammarco, boasts authentic Italian pizza with made-on-site dough, a proprietary cheese blend that is never frozen and a secret sauce recipe. It is based in Toledo, Ohio.

In the statement, Marco’s said those interested in franchising can visit marcosfranchising.com.

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