IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 23, 2025--
Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain for over 45 years, known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperonis, massive 20-inch Mountain-sized pizzas and dough made fresh daily, has once again been lauded by ratings powerhouse Yelp. The growing pizza brand was ranked #7 among U.S. restaurant chains and #9 overall on Yelp’s Most Loved Brands of 2025 list. The list celebrates the national brands that have cultivated loyalty and love on Yelp, and the rankings are based on customer ratings and reviews for businesses with 150 or more locations and at least 500 total reviews. The prestigious Yelp recognition underscores Mountain Mike’s strong guest satisfaction and consistent performance across verified consumer reviews, reinforcing the brand’s growing national appeal. The accolade follows the brand’s debut at #6 on Yelp’s Top 25 Pizza Chains in America list. Mountain Mike’s has grown exponentially since 2017 while staying true to its roots. Along the way, the popular chain continues to add to a surge of industry acclaim.
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"We are immensely grateful for the tremendous loyalty and passion from our guests, since exceptional hospitality and quality guide everything we do,” said Carol DeNembo, Chief Marketing Officer of Mountain Mike’s Pizza. “Being named one of Yelp’s Most Loved Brands wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated franchise partners and team members who bring Pizza the Way It Oughta Be® to life every day, and this accolade caps a year of remarkable brand recognition.“
In addition to the top-10 ranking from Yelp, Mountain Mike’s continues to receive an array of other important industry honors, including prestigious rankings and multiple accolades that highlight the brand’s steep growth trajectory and ongoing excellence. Mountain Mike’s climbed to #89 on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® list – the brand’s third consecutive year in the Top 100 – and rose to #4 in the highly competitive pizza category. Franchise Times honored Mountain Mike’s with a coveted Zor Award for “Top Sit-Down Pizza,” and the Franchise Innovation Awards recognized the brand’s Heart-Shaped Pizza promotion as “Best PR Campaign.” Mountain Mike’s was also named “Brand of the Year” by Pizza Marketplace as part of its Top 100 Movers & Shakers. The prominent industry outlet also ranked CEO Jim Metevier among the top executives shaping the pizza industry. Further illustrating its significant momentum, Mountain Mike’s landed at #32 on Entrepreneur’s Top Food Franchises and #136 on the Nation’s Restaurant News & Restaurant Business Top 500 list of leading U.S. restaurant chains.
With a strong presence nationwide, proven franchise model and continued investments in quality and innovation, Mountain Mike’s is well-positioned for even more growth and segment dominance. The brand began 2025 with remarkable momentum, fueled by a host of strategic market entries and the opening of its 300 th restaurant. Through Q4, Mountain Mike’s has opened eight new restaurants, several of which debuted in new territories for the brand across Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Year-to-date, Mountain Mike's opened 23 restaurants, the most in a single year for the brand. The acclaimed pizza powerhouse now operates in more than 30 markets systemwide and has 120+ locations under development across 15 states.
With more than 320 restaurants in operation across 11 states and counting, Mountain Mike’s is primed to continue expansion throughout the U.S. by extending opportunities to new franchise partners looking to diversify their portfolios with a popular family pizza concept. To learn more about new franchise opportunities in your market of interest, visit www.mountainmikesfranchise.com.
About Mountain Mike’s Pizza
Since 1978, Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperonis, Mountain-sized pizzas, and dough made fresh daily, has been a popular choice for families, serving “Pizza the Way it Oughta Be!®” In addition to offering carryout, its own in-house delivery, and four third-party delivery options, Mountain Mike’s provides a family-friendly dine-in environment making it easy for guests to enjoy the brand’s signature experience wherever they are. Most of its 320+ locations feature a kids’ activity area with arcade games, dedicated party rooms and big screen TVs throughout, making Mountain Mike’s an ideal place for sports teams, family gatherings, group fundraising events and private parties alike. With a menu of signature pizzas, chicken wings, garlic knots, fresh salads, sharable desserts, and a selection of beer and wine, there’s something for everyone at Mountain Mike’s. Guests may also take advantage of streamlined ordering via the Mountain Rewards® app to earn exclusive offers and personalized rewards towards free food. This year, Mountain Mike’s was named one of America’s Favorite Restaurant Chains by Newsweek, as well as a top-10 brand on Yelp’s Most Loved Restaurant Brands list. For a complete list of locations and the full menu, visit www.mountainmikespizza.com or follow Mountain Mike’s on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.
Mountain Mike’s Pizza Ranks in Top 10 of Yelp’s Most Loved Brands
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states Thursday, demonstrating Tehran’s continued ability to strike its neighbors even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the threat from the country was nearly eliminated.
Iran’s attacks on Gulf states along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world’s energy supplies with effects far beyond the Middle East. That has proved to be Iran’s greatest strategic advantage in the war. Britain held a call with nearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over.
Trump has insisted the strait can be taken by force — but said it is not up to the U.S. to do that. In an address to the American people Wednesday night, he encouraged countries that depend on oil from Hormuz to “build some delayed courage” and go “take it.”
Before the U.S. and Israel started the war on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran, the waterway was open to traffic and 20% of all traded oil passed through it.
Iran responded defiantly to Trump’s speech, in which the American president claimed U.S. military action had been so decisive that “one of the most powerful countries” is “really no longer a threat.”
A spokesman for Iran’s military, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, insisted Thursday that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms, munitions and production facilities. He said facilities targeted so far by U.S. strikes are “insignificant.”
Just before Trump began his address — in which he said U.S. “core strategic objectives are nearing completion” — explosions were heard in Dubai as air defenses worked to intercept an Iranian missile barrage.
Less than a half-hour after the president was done, Israel said its military was also working to intercept incoming missiles. Sirens sounded in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, immediately after the speech.
Attacks continued across Iran on Thursday, with strikes reported in multiple cities.
Even amid the conflict, families went to a park in Tehran to play games and grill food to mark the last day of Iranian New Year, or Nowruz.
In Lebanon — home to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who are fighting Israel, which has launched a ground invasion — an Israeli strike killed four people in the south, the Health Ministry said.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
Iranian attacks on about two dozen commercial ships, and the threat of more, have halted nearly all traffic in the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.
Since March 1, traffic through the strait has dropped 94% over the same period last year, according to the Lloyds List Intelligence shipping data firm. Two ships are confirmed to have paid a fee, the firm said, while others were allowed through based on agreements with their home governments.
Saudi Arabia piped about 1 billion barrels of oil away from the Strait of Hormuz in March, according to maritime data firm Kpler, while Iraq said Thursday that it had started to truck oil across Syria to avoid the strait.
The 35 countries that spoke Thursday, including all G7 industrialized democracies except the U.S., as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed a declaration last month demanding Iran stop blocking the strait.
Thursday’s talks were focused on political and diplomatic measures, but British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said military planners from an unspecified number of countries will also plot ways to ensure security once fighting ends, including potential mine-clearing work and “reassurance” for commercial shipping.
No country appears willing to try to open the strait by force while the war is raging. French President Emmanuel Macron, while on a visit to South Korea, called a military operation to secure the waterway “unrealistic.”
But there is a concern that Iran might limit traffic through the waterway even after U.S. and Israeli attacks cease.
The idea of an international effort has echoes of the “coalition of the willing,” led by the U.K. and France, that was assembled to underpin Ukraine’s security in the event of a ceasefire in that war. The coalition is, in part, an attempt to demonstrate to Washington that Europe is doing more for its own security in the face of frequent criticism from Trump.
The conflict is driving up prices for oil and natural gas, roiling stock markets, pushing up the cost of gasoline and threatening to make a range of goods, including food, more expensive.
On Thursday, Brent crude, the international standard, rose again and was around $108, up about 50% from Feb. 28.
Though the oil and gas that typically transits the strait is primarily sold to Asian nations, Japan and South Korea were the only two countries from the region joining Thursday's call about the strait. The supply of jet fuel has also been interrupted, with consequences for travel worldwide.
Weissert reported from Washington and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this story.
Mourners gather during a funeral procession for Alireza Tangsiri, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, and others killed in Israeli strikes in late March, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
People take cover in a bomb shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a U.S. airstrike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a U.S. airstrike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
President Donald Trump walks from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
