FdG! Happy Joe’s Sets Its Sights on North Texas Expansion

Happy Joe’s, home of the first taco pizza, is making big moves in 2023. After breaking ground on new international locations last summer, the beloved Midwestern quick-service chain is planning to enter the Lone Star State.

New franchisee group HJ SMS OpCo, LLC is leading the brand’s expansion into north Texas, with plans to open a new Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream location in either Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, DeSoto, or Arlington. The group is Happy Joe’s first minority- and Black-led franchisee, and member Rickey McBride is excited to take this historic step forward with a brand he grew up with.

McBride and his partners look back fondly on their memories of the iconic pizza parlor. Each of them grew up in the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois, with Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream a consistent source of great food and fun. A Davenport Central High alum, McBride said he celebrated many birthday parties, sports team wins, and fun nights out at Happy Joe’s, eating pizza and playing games to his heart’s content.

“Happy Joe’s has always been family-oriented,” McBride said. “It was always someplace where kids could play while parents converse.”

McBride attended Georgia Southern University and went on to become a successful business owner in Atlanta. Currently, McBride is one of America’s largest suppliers of sea moss and runs a health food store in Duluth, Georgia. When he noticed that Happy Joe’s launched a new, healthier cauliflower pizza crust option, he knew it was time to reach out to the brand.

The group hopes to open its first location by the end of the 2023 summer season. Each of its top choices are areas in Texas with 40% or higher minority populations. This was a big factor in their location search, as the Black-owned group aims to bring new jobs to these diverse areas. McBride said his group’s ultimate goal is to open Texas’ first Happy Joe’s in the multi-unit agreement in the southern Dallas suburbs of Grand Prairie or Cedar Hill. However, if it isn’t they aren’t able to find the right location in either of these neighborhoods, the group will look to nearby Arlington instead.

As McBride explained in a recent press release, “We’re happy to be the first minority group of Happy Joe’s. To add jobs to areas that minorities are based in has been a goal for all the owners.”

Thanks to the group’s close ties with both family and friends in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, entry into this new market was an easy decision. With Texas being one of the few minority-majority states in the U.S., McBride and company saw a unique opportunity to bring Happy Joe’s Midwestern charm to new audiences. That’s why once the opportunity presented itself, the franchisee group quickly took action.

“There are lots of places you can get pizza, but there’s only one place that gives you a unique pizza experience like Happy Joe’s,” said McBride. “The brand is extremely creative with their offerings, and they have a wide variety of pizzas for every discriminating palate. Happy Joe’s knows how to treat people right, and they constantly come up with different options to bring in new guests — two things that I always look for with my business ventures. I can’t express how excited my group is to not just be the first minority-owned franchises, but to also be the first ones bringing Happy Joe’s to Texas.”

Founded in 1972, Happy Joe’s opened its first location in Bettendorf, Iowa. With its focus on family-friendly fun and unique pizzas, the chain quickly grew into a Midwestern sensation. Their original Taco Joe pizza was the first of its kind and set the standard for culinary innovation the brand is known for today. Currently, the brand oversees three company locations and 45 franchise locations throughout the Midwest, Florida, and Egypt.