| Jet's America, Inc. | |
| Trade Name: | Jet's Pizza |
| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | Sterling Heights, Michigan |
| Founder: | Eugene and John Jetts |
| Area Served: | United States |
| Location: | Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States |
| Industry: | Restaurant |
| Key People: | John Jetts (CEO) Jim Galloway (Vice President of Franchise Sales) Jeff Galloway (Vice President of Store Operations) Jackie Jetts (Director of Training) Aaron Nilsson (CIO) Toni Werner (CFO) Kevin Tosolt (Director of Marketing) |
| Locations: | 425 |
| Revenue: | US$510 million (2022) |
| Num Employees: | 16,000 (2023) |
Jet's America, Inc. (doing business as Jet's Pizza) is an American pizza franchise restaurant. It was founded in 1978 in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, and operates primarily in the state of Michigan, although the company has expanded to other states within the U.S. as well.
The first Jet's Pizza was opened in 1978 by brothers Eugene and John Jetts in Sterling Heights, Michigan.[1] The original location was converted from a vacant party store into a restaurant.[2] The Jetts later opened more locations and formed Jet's America Inc. with their cousins, Jim Galloway, Jr. and Jeff Galloway in 1992.[3]
Jet's is known for its square deep-dish Detroit-style pizza, including the 8-corner pizza which the company has trademarked.[4] When the store first opened, the square pizzas were a novelty in the region. The original recipe came from the Jetts's mother and has not changed since 1978.
The first franchise location was opened in 1990.[5] As of January 2024, Jet's Pizza had 425 franchises in 22 states,[6] with restaurant locations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.[7]
In 2021, Jet's partnered with restaurant technology firm HungerRush to utilize the firm's OrderAI software. The initial rollout of the system allowed customers to place orders via text message.[8] In August 2022, Jet's completed a successful pilot program of OrderAI Talk. Franchisees that opt to use OrderAI Talk will connect phone-in customers to an artificially intelligent phone bot, instead of a live human. The AI system is designed to learn consumer behavior to improve upselling and targeted marketing.[9]